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BR  115  .S6  L3  1902 
Lang,  John  Marshall,  1834- 
1909. 

The  Church  and  its  social 
mission 


,1: 


THE    CHURCH 


ITS    SOCIAL    MISSION 


THE    CHURCH 


AND 


ITS    SOCIAL    MISSION 

{E^t  iSairH  Hecture  for  1901) 


JOHN    MARSHALL   LANG,   D.D. 

PRINCIPAL   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF    ABERDEEN 

AUTHOR   OF    'life:    IS    IT   WORTH    LIVING?'    '  THE   EXPANSION    OF    THE 
CHRISTIAN    LIFE,'    ETC.    ETC. 


NEW     YORK 

THOMAS     WHITTAKER 

EDINBURGH    AND    LONDON 

WILLIAM    BLACKWOOD    AND    SONS 

MCMII 


Printed  by 
William  Blackwood  &  Sons,  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 


PREFACE. 


This  volume  contains  six  lectures  which,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  requirements  of  the  Baird 
Trust,  were  delivered  in  Glasgow,  in  the  early 
months  of  last  year.  The  lectures,  however,  are 
not  reproduced  in  lecture  form.  They  have  been 
divided  into  chapters ;  and,  in  carrying  out  this 
division,  some  rearrangements  and  modifications 
of  the  original  plan  have  been  made  necessary. 
In  chapters  xiii.  and  xv.,  the  author  has  inserted 
parts  of  the  course  that  he  had  designed,  which, 
for  want  of  time,  he  was  obliged  to  omit  from 
the  lectures. 

The  chief  interest  of  the  present  day  is  a  social 
interest.  Over  questions  relating  to  the  further- 
ance of  wellbeing,  and  to  the  improvement  of  the 
conditions  of  life,  the  most  active  and  influential 
thought  is  exercised.  Thus,  with  regard  to  the 
arts  and  the  sciences,  it  is  felt  that,  whilst  know- 

b 


vi  Preface. 

ledge  is  to  be  pursued  for  its  own  sake,  and  the 
ascertainment  of  truth  is  the  end  of  research,  the 
ultimate  aim  of  all  real  knowledge  and  of  all 
truth  is  the  making  of  life  worthier  and  wealthier. 
The  work  of  the  student  is  coming  ever  more 
fully  into  line  with  the  efforts  of  those  who,  as 
philanthropists,  as  educationists,  as  officers  of 
health,  as  members  of  corporations,  as  polit- 
icians, are  bent  on  reducing  the  occasions  of 
evil  to  individuals  and  of  loss  to  the  community, 
and  on  a  more  effective  application  of  the  laws 
and  the  constituents  of  social  righteousness. 
With  this  convergence  of  purpose  in  view,  no 
issue  can  be  more  important  than  that  which 
bears  on  the  moral  and  spiritual  influence  that 
pervades  all  endeavour.  Sometimes  this  influ- 
ence is  ignored.  Sometimes,  though  not  alto- 
gether ignored,  the  entire  emphasis  is  put  on 
sanitary,  on  scientific,  or  on  economic  principles 
and  methods.  In  this  volume,  the  contention 
virtually  is  that,  in  the  building  up  of  a  noble 
human  society,  as  in  the  building  up  of  a  noble 
human  being,  the  indispensable  factor  is  the 
moral  will,  the  moral  conscience,  —  that  it  is 
this  that  determines  the  quality  both  of  the 
personal  unit  and  of  the  civic  unity. 

The    book    now    published    assumes    that    the 
ministry  of  the  Christian  Church  specially  con- 


Preface.  vii 

nects  with  ethical  impulses  and  standards.  It 
presents  the  Church  as  a  society  founded  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  commissioned  by  Him  to  be 
the  salt  of  the  earth,  through  the  propagation 
of  its  ideals  in  the  surrounding  world.  It  traces 
the  gradual  unfolding  of  this  mission  in  the 
nineteen  centuries  of  the  history  of  the  Church, 
and,  referring  more  particularly  to  Great  Britain, 
it  exhibits  the  influence  of  the  National  Churches 
on  the  moral  pith  and  tone  of  the  British  peoples. 
And,  then,  proceeding  to  the  consideration  of  the 
vast  and  intricate  problems  of  modern  life,  it 
discusses  the  solutions  of  these  problems  that 
are  proposed  or  attempted,  dwelling,  at  some 
length,  on  the  revolutionary  collectivism  de- 
manded by  many  as  the  only  cure  of  social 
wrong  and  ill.  By  this  review,  the  inquiries 
pressed  on  the  attention  of  Christian  men  are 
such  as  these :  What  has  the  Church  to  say 
to  an  age  whose  wealth-lands  and  woe-lands  are 
so  glaringly  contrasted  ?  To  what  extent,  and 
in  what  ways,  is  it  co-operating  with  all  agencies 
that  aim  at  social  betterment,  and  is  it  realis- 
ing its  own  proper  vocation  to  regenerate  and 
guide  the  life  of  the  soul  ?  By  what  elasticities 
of  method  is  it  adapting  its  service  to  the 
complexities  and  the  perplexities  by  which  it  is 
confronted  ?      Wherein     does     it     need     to     be 


viii  Preface, 

strengthened,  it  may  be  reformed,  in  order  that 
fuller  effect  may  be  given  to  its  work? 

That  the  author  has  satisfactorily  realised  his 
intention,  he  cannot  say.  He  is  conscious  of 
the  many  imperfections  that  attach  to  his  treat- 
ment of  a  great  theme.  But  he  can  honestly 
say  that  his  labour  has  been  a  labour  of  love, 
and  that  he  has  done  his  best  with  the  resources, 
the  time,  and  the  opportunity,  at  his  command 
to  secure  a  generous  appreciation. 

He  acknowledges,  with  deep  gratitude,  the 
kindness  of  his  esteemed  friend  and  colleague. 
Professor  Davidson,  LL.D.,  who,  in  the  midst 
of  his  onerous  duties,  undertook  the  revision  of 
the  proof-sheets,  and  of  whose  valuable  sugges- 
tions he  has  gladly  availed  himself. 

Such  as  it  is,  the  author  sends  the  treatise 
forth,  in  the  hope  that  the  charity  of  those  who 
read  it  may  cover  any  blemishes  which  they 
may  detect,  and  that  it  may  be  of  some  use 
to  the  generation  he  desires  to  serve  according 
to  the  will  of  God. 


CuANONRY  Lodge,  Abkrdeen, 
March  1 902. 


CONTENTS. 


PART    I. 
CHAPTER    I. 

CARDINAL    POINTS. 

PAGE 

The  features  most  conspicuous  in  any  survey  of  Christian  civil- 
isation. The  study  contemplated.  The  unit  in  social  life. 
The  issue  involved  in  the  battle  for  liberty.  Natural  rights. 
Organised  social  life  necessary  to  the  completion  of  personal 
life.  Sociology.  The  paramount  importance  of  social 
subjects.  The  unity  of  all  agencies  that  relate  to  social 
wellbeing.  The  Church  :  its  influence  on  society  and 
social  developments  ;  its  testimony  through  the  past  nine- 
teen centuries.  In  what  sense  the  word  "Church"  is 
employed.     The  two  parts  into  which  the  book  is  divided    1-14 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    SOCIAL   ASPECT   OF   CHRIST'S   TEACHING. 

All  human  society  gives  vitality  and  continuity  to  ideas.  The 
ideas  and  aims  that  have  been  made  effective  by  the 
corporate  action  of  the  Church.  The  three  lines  along 
which  the  proposed  investigation  shall  proceed.     The  sub- 


Contents. 

ject  of  this  chapter.  The  Jewish  environment  of  Jesus. 
His  recognition  of  all  that  formed  the  core  of  Israel's 
nationality— A  social  order  based  on  righteousness.  Ap- 
proximations to  democratic  equalities  in  the  provisions  of 
the  law.  The  community  and  its  individual  units.  Christ 
incorporated  the  Jewish  ideal,  but  detached  the  ideal  from 
that  which  was  merely  dispensational.  The  originality  of 
His  teaching.  His  connexion  of  the  seen  and  the  unseen. 
The  social  tendency  of  His  doctrine  illustrated  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Its  summum  bonum.  Three 
features  of  the  conduct  which  corresponds  to  the  end  thus 
indicated.  The  social  and  catholic  character  of  the  king- 
dom as  it  is  presented  in  Christ's  teaching.  The  adaptive- 
ness  of  His  anthropology  to  all  wholesome  developments 
of  life  .  .  .  .  .  .  15-30 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    SOCIAL   VOCATION   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

The  assertion  that  Christ's  ethic  contemplates  the  righteousness 
of  the  individual  rather  than  that  of  a  corporate  body.  To 
what  extent  justified.  But  the  formation  of  an  ethical 
society  always  in  Christ's  view.  This  shewn  even  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  nature  of  His  society.  The 
society  the  evidence  of  His  kingdom  in  its  two  abiding 
features.  The  Church  an  election  out  of  mankind.  What 
election  does  not  mean.  The  Church  a  Trustee  Body : 
through  which  the  few  are  used  to  bless  the  many.  The 
consecration  of  the  Church  as  evidenced  in  Christ's  Inter- 
cessory Prayer.  The  vocation  enforced  by  great  regulative 
truths.  The  central  truth  of  the  Church  is  the  Incarnation. 
Some  lines  of  objection  to  this  truth  discussed.  The  twofold 
appeal  by  which  the  faiih  in  the  Incarnation  is  strengthened ; 
the  appeal  to  personal  affection,  in  the  view  of  Christ's 
sacrificing  love  ;  the  appeal  to  all  that  is  strenuous  and 
hopeful  in  tlie  assurance  of  a  living  Christ    .  .  31-52 


Contents,  xi 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    AGGRESSIVE    SOCIAL   ACTION   OF   THE    CHURCH. 

The  interest  and  the  use  of  Church  history.  Why  it  repels  many. 
But  what  is  beneath  and  behind  all  records  is  the  real  his- 
tory. The  impossibility  of  summarising  such  vast  expan- 
sions. Two  epochs  selected.  One,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  history  until  the  peace  of  Constantine.  The  other,  from 
the  latter  half  of  the  middle  ages  until  the  Reformation. 
The  beginning  at  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  Christian 
community  in  the  early  morning  of  Christianity.  A  char- 
acteristic collectivism.  New  chances  and  guarantees  for 
civilised  life.  Disengagement  of  Christianity  from  Judaism. 
Its  contact  with  the  Roman  Empire.  St  Paul  the  pioneer 
of  the  more  catholic  enterprise.  His  organisation  of 
Christian  communities.  His  missionary  circuits.  His  ideal 
and  aim.  The  facilities  for  the  extension  of  the  Church 
offered  by  the  Roman  Empire.  Why  the  Church  was  per- 
secuted. What  the  Church  had  become  and  had  done  at 
the  period  of  the  Edict  of  Constantine  :  how  it  had  struck 
the  social  life  surrounding  it  near  the  base  of  that  life  ;  how 
it  had  developed  a  special  type  of  social  life ;  how  it  had 
made  a  covenant  of  sympathy  with  the  poor  and  the  dis- 
tressed ;  how  it  had  put  a  new  value  on  human  life  53-73 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    AGGRESSIVE    SOCIAL   ACTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

— continued. 

A  new  era  for  Church  and  for  Empire.  The  religious  and 
social  position  of  the  Church  at  the  beginning  of  the  tenth 
century.  A  glance  back  to  the  Dark  Ages.  The  Empire  a 
Christian  Power,  with  the  exception  of  a  brief  period,  from 


xii  Co7itents. 

the  day  of  Constantine's  peace.  Justinian's  Code  and 
Institutes.  Efforts  among  Barbarians,  and  the  influence 
of  these  efforts.  Church  development  on  lines  parallel  to 
those  of  the  Empire.  The  growth  of  the  Papacy.  The 
Frankish- Roman  Empire.  Charlemagne  and  the  Carlovin- 
gian  dynasty.  The  climax  of  Papal  assumption,  and  the 
subordination  of  State  to  Church.  The  situation  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  The  Middle  Ages  full  of  contradictions. 
Feudalism  in  the  first  instance  a  social  rather  than  a  political 
development.  The  relation  of  the  Church  to  feudalism. 
Monachism  :  its  history  ;  its  spread.  Orders  of  monks. 
The  debt  of  civilisation  to  the  religious  orders.  The  abuse 
of  Monachism,  and  its  decline  and  corruption.  The  decline 
of  the  Papacy.  Europe  awakening.  A  day  of  the  Lord. 
The  retrospect,  and  the  features  and  issues  which  it  has 
indicated       ......  74-9^ 


CHAPTER    VI. 

NATIONAL   CHURCHllS   AND    THEIR   SOCIAL   WORK. 

The  Catholicity  of  the  Church  allowing  for  diversities.  Afifini- 
ties  of  race  and  blood.  No  difficulty  in  combining  diver- 
sities with  the  idea  of  the  one  Church  in  the  early  period  of 
Christianity.  But  complications  in  later  periods.  The 
tendency  to  uniformity  in  rule  and  ritual  developing  as  the 
Papal  power  developed.  Change  in  the  plan  of  the  aggress- 
ive work  of  the  Church.  Frictions  of  frequent  occurrence. 
The  schism  between  the  East  and  the  West.  The  national 
spirit  in  the  British  Isles— more  marked  than  in  Continental 
countries.  The  immemorial  nationality  of  the  Church  in 
England.  The  nationality  of  the  Church  in  Scotland.  The 
Celtic  Church  organised  according  to  Celtic  ideas,  and  not 
according  to  Roman.  Queen  Margaret  and  her  work. 
King  David  and  his  work.  The  nationality  evidenced  in 
characteristic   Scottish   fashion.      The   parochial   economy  : 


Contents.  xiii 

its  origin  and  growth.  Tithes,  a  religious  obh'gation  officially 
recognised.  Allotment  of  tithes.  The  division  and  endow- 
ment of  parishes  both  in  England  and  in  Scotland  obscure. 
The  National  Churches  not  mere  State  Churches.  Number 
of  parishes  in  England  at  the  Reformation.  Number  in 
Scotland        ......  97-114 


CHAPTER    VII. 

NATIONAL    REFORMED   CHURCHES — THE    CHURCH 
OF   SCOTLAND. 

The  endeavour  towards  re-formation.  Dangers  attendant  on 
this  endeavour.  The  isolating  tendency.  How  the  Re- 
formers endeavoured  to  counteract  it.  The  catholicity  of 
the  Reformation.  The  conception  of  a  world-wide  fellow- 
ship in  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline.  But  the  growth  of 
the  centrifugal  tendency.  The  equipment  of  the  Protestant 
National  Church  of  Scotland  and  its  work.  The  condition 
of  the  Scottish  people  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  The 
constitution  of  the  Church:  its  scanty  resources;  its  ideality. 
The  fourfold  action  of  the  Scottish  Church  on  social  life. 
Testimony  borne  as  to  its  service.  The  hindrance  to  its 
efficiency  occasioned  by  the  rapid  growth  of  population  in 
the  nineteenth  century.  Efforts  to  multiply  agency  inter- 
rupted by  the  Disruption.  But  one  issue  of  Disruption  a 
vast  addition  to  religious  machinery.  Sir  James  Graham's 
Act.  Professor  James  Robertson.  The  Endowment 
Scheme.  New  parishes.  Extensions  of  ministry.  The 
result  of  all  the  activity.  The  duty  and  opportunity  of  a 
National  Church       .....         1 15-133 


XIV  Contents, 

PART   II. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

PRi:SENT-DAV    PROBLEMS  :     POPULATION   AND    PAUPERISM. 

Review  of  previous  part  of  volume.  Change  of  venue.  In- 
crease of  population  previously  referred  to.  Forecasts 
founded  on  this  increase.  The  contention  of  Malthus  that 
the  tendency  is  to  multiply  beyond  the  means  of  subsistence. 
This  kind  of  prophesying  may  be  dismissed.  But  there 
should  be  a  wise  providence  of  mind.  Malthusian  checks 
on  increase.  Preventions  to  be  desiderated.  The  opposi- 
tion of  the  two  poles  of  civilisation.  Aggregate  wealth  :  in 
the  United  States  of  America ;  in  Great  Britain.  Against 
this  may  be  put  the  awful  prevalence  of  poverty.  Estimates 
of  pauper  population  :  Mr  C.  Booth's ;  Local  Government 
Boards'.  Pauperism  decreasing.  Effect  of  Poor  Law. 
The  action  of  the  Church  superseded.  Experiment  of  Dr 
Chalmers  in  Glasgow.  Change  of  feeling  as  to  parochial 
relief.  Administrative  methods.  Two  classes  specially 
appealing  to  compassion.  Old  age  pensions.  Pension 
funds.  Much  in  administration  of  statutory  relief  that  is 
unsatisfactory.  But  room  for  judicious  benevolence  in 
connexion  with  it     .  ,  .  .  .         135-163 

CHAPTER    IX. 

PRESENT-DAY   PROBLEMS  I    POVERTY   AND    ITS 
CIRCUMSTANCES. 

Poverty  not  to  be  measured  by  pauperism.  Statistics  of  Mr 
Booth  as  to  population  in  London  between  the  lines  of  want 
and  poverty.  The  question  to  be  considered  by  the  Church. 
Need  of  investigation  into  the  causes  of  poverty.      The 


Contents,  xv 

distribution  of  charity.  Focussing  of  charities  needed. 
Charity  organisation  societies.  The  opportunity  for  National 
Churches.  Poverty  cannot  be  dissociated  from  the  features 
of  social  life.  Some  habits  and  circumstances  with  which 
it  connects.  First,  intemperance.  The  amount  of  poverty 
directly  attributable  to  intemperance.  But,  indirectly,  what 
a  vast  amount  !  The  sum  expended  on  alcoholic  liquors. 
What  can  be  done?  The  pioneers  of  temperance  reform. 
Two  points:  (i)  The  personal  duty  of  Christians;  (2)  the 
action  of  the  citizenship  or  State  with  regard  to  the  traffic 
in  intoxicants.  The  Royal  Commission  on  Licensing  Laws : 
Majority  and  minority  reports.  The  duty  of  Christian 
citizenship.  Lord  Peel  and  the  minority  report — the  basis 
of  a  new  National  Covenant.  Counter-attractions.  Second, 
the  housing  of  the  people.  The  housing  of  the  lower  side 
of  the  population,  Glasgow.  The  Glasgow  corporation. 
Three  kinds  of  agency  to  deal  with  houses.  Two  desiderata 
as  to  housing  to  be  pressed.  The  home  as,  more  than  the 
house,  the  special  sphere  of  Christian  ministry         .         164-195 


CHAPTER    X. 

PRESENT-DAY    PROBLEMS  :    LABOUR   AND   THi:    COMMON- 
WEALTH— SOCIALISM. 

A  protest,  interpreting  Socialistic  opinion.  The  term  Socialism. 
Denoting  ideas  that  have  found  some  expression  in  all 
times,  but  gained  in  force  during  the  nineteenth  century. 
Preparations  for  them.  Utilitarians  of  the  earlier  period. 
Utilitarianism.  The  wretched  condition  of  many,  evidenced 
by  Bread  and  Chartist  Riots.  The  introduction  of  steam- 
power,  and  its  results.  The  rush  from  the  country  into  the 
towns.  Children  hawking  in  streets.  Karl  Marx.  Social- 
istic organisations,  Labour  Leagues,  &c.  Need  to  dis- 
criminate. I.  Socialism  and  democracy.  2.  Socialism 
and  communism.     3.  Socialism  and  endeavours  to  reduce 


xvi  Contents. 

inequalities.  4.  Socialism  and  extension  of  powers  of  State. 
Laissez  faire  abandoned.  An  ethical  character  conceded 
to  the  State.  Powers  of  Stale  more  freely  used  to  promote 
social  happiness.  But  socialism  more  than  this.  What 
is  it?  .  .  .  .  .  .         196-221 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE   POSITIONS   OF   SOCIALISM. 

The  great  variety  of  societies.  But  the  common  idea.  Modern 
socialism.  Attractive,  at  many  points,  to  earnest  men,  who 
yet  have  no  fellowship  with  its  ulterior  aims.  State- 
ments relative  to  socialism  differ.  Dr  Schaffle  referred 
to  as  an  authority.  His  exposition.  The  Fabian  Society 
publications.  Karl  Marx.  An  attitude  of  scepticism 
must  be  assumed,  as  to  the  views  and  tenets  on  labour, 
land,  capital.  First,  The  labour  question  "the  burning 
question  of  the  Europe  of  to-day."  The  assertion  that 
"labour  is  the  source  of  all  wealth"  criticised.  The 
measurement  of  value  by  manual  labour  criticised.  The 
right  of  the  labourer  to  the  vvliole  produce  of  the  labour 
criticised.  Second,  Property  in  land — "  Private  property  is 
theft" — a  fundamental  principle.  Two  points  to  be  made. 
Is  the  distinction  between  land  and  other  material — viz., 
that  land  is  God's  gift  to  all,  and  therefore  not  property,  but 
that  the  fruit  of  labour  is  not  gift  but  property — ^justified  ? 
And,  Is  the  right  of  property  a  right  to  abuse  as  well  as 
use?  Differences  in  socialistic  theories  as  to  land.  The 
nationalisation  of  land  :  how  is  it  to  be  carried  out  ?  Third, 
Capital.  Socialism  a  revolt  against  selfishness  in  capitalists. 
But  all  capitalists  not  selfish.  All  capitalists  not  million- 
aires. Capital  represents  the  investing  of  any  sum  in  means 
or  instruments  of  production.  Facilities  for  realising  shares 
in  business  profits  desirable.  But  difficulties  in  the  way. 
The  reduction  of  the  personal  element  in  the  relations  of 
employer   and   employe,  by  syndicates  on   the  one  hand, 


Contents.  xvii 

and  trades-unions  on  the  other.  Competition  pronounced 
the  curse  of  civilisation.  Emulation  offered  as  its  substitute. 
Would  it  be  a  substitute?  Co-operation  :  a  Christian  idea. 
The  growth  of  co-operative  societies.  But  socialism  would 
make  co-operation  a  compulsory  method  by  which  all  re- 
sults are  to  be  realised.  Socialism  takes  little  account  of 
the  wealth  and  variety  of  the  elements  of  civilisation      •  222-259 


CHAPTER    XII. 

MORAL   AND    RELIGIOUS   ASPECTS   OF   SOCIALISM. 

Socialism  cannot  be  regarded  merely  as  an  economic  system. 
Its  claim  is  that  the  polity  is  the  morality.  Its  moral  and 
religious  bearing  must  be  considered.  First,  the  spirit  of 
discontent  which  it  fosters.  It  has  an  international  propa- 
ganda. Thus,  the  influence  of  Continental  and  American 
sentiment  is  communicated,  and,  although  views  of  an 
extreme  character  are  not  widely  received,  thought  is 
coloured  by  them.  The  passion  for  equality.  Equality  of 
condition  and  personal  merit  inconsistent  standards.  A 
right  and  a  wrong  discontent.  Second,  the  relation  of 
socialistic  systems  to  the  moral  law.  Systems  often  adhered 
to  by  those  whose  moral  attitudes  are  right.  But  tenden- 
cies relating  to  the  family  need  to  be  watched.  Socialism 
meets  one  selfishness  by  developing  another.  Its  brother- 
hood too  much  a  class  brotherhood.  It  does  not  sufficiently 
realise  the  need  of  personal  regeneration.  Third,  the  hos- 
tility frequently  expressed  to  the  worship  and  the  ministry 
of  the  Church.  The  root  of  this  a  radical  divergence  from 
the  religious  ideal.  Earthliness  in  prospect  and  in  motive. 
Labour-churches.  The  duty  of  the  Church  towards  social- 
ism. The  Church  must  make  its  aim  fully  manifest. 
Patience  is  required.  Sympathy  and  co-operation  in  all 
honest  effort  are  required.  Study  of  social  life  required. 
The  Church  should  be  cautious  in  pronouncements  on  special 
issues.     The  outflow  of  a  spiritual  force  needed        .         260-283 


x\'iii  Contents. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

social-i:thical  trmxds. 

Tenflcncics  of  thought  in  which  sympathy  with  some  of  the 
ideas  embodied  in  socialism  is  expressed.  First,  work, 
with  a  moral  end,  the  mark  of  worth  and  dignity. 
Kuskin's  distinction  between  work  and  play.  Carlyle 
and  his  Gospel  of  Work.  The  two  men,  and  no  third, 
whom  he  recognises.  A  new  ethical  ambition  stimulated. 
Second,  the  ethics  of  wealth.  Wealth  a  problem  as  well 
as  poverty.  How  is  it  made?  used?  distributed?  Com- 
mercial immoralities.  The  office  of  wealth.  Waste  of 
wealth  is  sin.  Responsibility  to  God  and  to  society  for  its 
administration.  Another  view  given  by  Ruskin.  His 
attack  on  political  economists.  His  distinction  between 
wealth,  money,  and  riches.  His  principle  that  life  is  wealth. 
A  conception  which  has  infused  an  ethical  element  into 
political  science.  Third,  the  Altruism  of  the  day.  Comte 
and  Comtism.  Altruism  has  its  religion  in  itself.  But, 
sometimes,  it  has  a  religious  hue.  Count  Tolstoy  and 
Tolstoyism.  The  influence  of  these  ethical  trends  apparent 
in  the  politics  of  the  day.  The  promise  of  a  harmonious 
development  of  national  life.  Pessimistic  views.  But  the 
character  of  dominating  ideals  and  aims  is  a  hopeful 
sign  .......        284-307 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Tin-:   SOCIAL   WOKK  01    THE   CHURCH    IN   THE   PRESENT  DAY. 

Internal  rectifications  as  well  as  external  readjustments  needed. 
Attacks  on  Churches  as  having  neglected  their  temporal 
mission.  The  answer  to  this  partly  in  former  chapters. 
In  Scotland,  the  Church  has  been  in  the  front  rather  than  in 
the  rear  of  the  onward  march.     The  many  social  impulses 


Contents.  xix 

given  by  the  older  race  of  parish  ministers.  In  the  more 
modern  time,  social  utilities  promoted  by  churchmen,  and 
by  agencies  of  churches.  Signs  of  increasing  social  activity. 
The  social  and  the  spiritual  cannot  be  absolutely  separated. 
Evangelism  and  philanthropy.  Some  instances  of  organisa- 
tions aiming  at  social  reformation  cited.  These  settlements 
bring  the  more  cultured  and  opulent  into  direct  touch  with 
the  needs  of  the  poorer  population.  They  interpret  also  the 
breadth  of  the  Christian  spirit.  Labour  colonies.  The 
Salvation  Army 3o8-330 


CHAPTER    XV. 

EFFECTUAL   CHURCH    MINISTRY. 

The  Church  represents  a  faith,  a  society,  a  propaganda.  First, 
it  holds  a  faith  in  trust  for  the  good  of  man.  The  spread 
of  socialism  said  to  be  a  token  of  the  decline  of  religion. 
Not  so.  But  a  decline  of  Church  authority.  How  can  the 
scepticism  as  to  the  message  of  the  Church  be  disarmed  ? 
The  part  of  the  answer,  relevant  to  the  matter  in  view,  is 
that  the  victory  must  be  the  victory  of  faith.  One  reason 
for  any  failure  may  be  uncertainty  in  the  belief  of  the 
Church.  Reflected  in  the  hesitancy  of  its  voice.  The 
teaching  may  want  in  strength,  and  it  may  want  in  wisdom. 
No  reason  more  widely  operative  than  the  separation  be- 
tween the  faith  and  the  conduct  of  Christians.  Second,  the 
Church  a  society,  whose  calling  is  to  represent  its  social  life 
to  mankind,  and  to  train  and  give  direction  to  the  spirit  of 
citizenship.  The  evidence  of  its  calling  obscured  by  divisions. 
Unities  in  spite  of  divisions.  But  the  existing  outward 
condition  of  the  Church  hinders  the  effect  of  its  action. 
Unity  in  action.  Four  points  essential  to  this  indicated. 
Third,  such  union  would  give  new  momentum  to  the  social 
propaganda  of  the  Church.  It  would  develop  aggressive 
work,  and  make  Church  life  more  complete.  The  desire 
for  complete  life  and  order  evidenced  in  England  and  in 


XX  Contents. 

Scotland.  The  Commission  on  the  Religious  Condition  of 
the  People.  All  Church  life  is  marked  by  three  purposes  t 
(i)  To  make  the  house  of  God  more  hospitable;  (2)  to 
develop,  not  mere  agency,  but  the  contact  of  person  with 
person  ;  (3)  to  call  forth  all  resources  of  energy  and  vitality. 
"  The  rights  of  man  and  the  rights  of  God."  The  fulfilment 
of  the  Church's  social  mission  .  .  .         33^-357 


INDKX    .......  358 


PART    I. 

THE    SOCIAL    VOCATION    OF    THE 
CHURCH 


CHAPTER    I. 


CARDINAL     POINTS, 


In  any  survey  of  the  civilisation  which  we  dis- 
tinguish as  Christian,  the  three  features  which 
most  distinctly  impress  the  mind  are  —  the 
development  of  the  individual,  the  constitution 
and  influence  of  civic  societies,  and  the  action 
of  the  moral  and  spiritual  forces  which  it  is  the 
mission  of  the  Church  to  propagate.  Our  study 
is,  in  the  main,  that  of  the  frictions  between 
these  constituents,  in  consequence  of  which  well- 
being  is  hindered,  and  of  the  efforts  to  reduce 
such  frictions  and  to  promote  the  reciprocity  of 
service  that  is  essential  to  the  building  up  of  a 
community  in  truth  and  in  justice. 

The  unit  in  social  life  is  the  individual.  He  is 
more  than  a  unit  indeed ;  he  is  also  a  unity :  a 
small  world,  but  still  a  world,  with  the  separate- 
ness  in  character,  in  aptitudes,  in  resources,  which 
we  denote  by  the  term  individuality.     Hence  the 


4        The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

difficulty  in  adjusting  his  place  and  claim  with 
the  demands  of  the  body  politic,  which  is  his 
environment.  The  battle  of  liberty  has  turned 
on  the  issue,  What  are  his  rights  ?  What  is  his 
due  ?  How  can  personal  freedom  be  harmonised 
with  social  order  ?  The  century  which  has 
closed  is  remarkable  for  the  earnestness  with 
which  this  issue  has  been  regarded,  and  for  the 
efforts  towards  a  more  complete  solution  of  it 
which  have  been  made. 

In  the  background  of  all  such  endeavours  is 
the  question  as  to  rights  which  may  be  called 
natural.  The  state  of  nature,  on  which  towards 
the  beginning  of  last  century  so  much  eloquence 
was  expended,  is  little  better  than  an  imagina- 
tion.^ The  savage,  free  and  independent,  existed 
only  when  the  savage  was  a  solitary.  When 
men  formed  into  companies  or  tribes  inter- 
ferences with  liberty  began,  and  the  equality  of 
all  was  impossible.  These  interferences  were  the 
accompaniment  of  civilisation.  If  w^e  go  back  to 
the  early  periods  of  civilised  life  we  find  the  vast 
majority  in  thraldom  :  men  were  supervised  and 
controlled  at  every  step  of  their  existence.     Their 

^  Brissot,  Mably,  Rousseau,  maintained  that  the  primitive  con- 
dition of  men  was  one  of  equality  ;  that  individuals  had  no  exclusive 
rights  of  property;  that  the  right  of  every  person  to  the  use  of 
the  earth  was  determined  by  his  need. 


The  Rights  of  the  Individual.  5 

right  to  live  was  conditioned  on  an  obligation 
to  serve.  And  in  the  history  of  Great  Britain, 
even  to  a  comparatively  recent  date,  the  area  of 
freedom  allowed  to  the  unit  was  circumscribed  by 
minute  and  often  vexatious  regulations.^  Society 
took  the  individual  in  hand,  and  allowed  him  only 
so  much  as  it  judged  to  be  for  the  advantage  of 
the  governing  classes  or  the  supposed  good  of  the 
State.  Our  conceptions  have  been  widened.  We 
now  recognise  that  in  human  nature  there  is  a 
charter  of  freedom  for  every  one,  and  that  every 
one  born  into  citizenship  is  entitled  to  the  oppor- 
tunity of  exercising  and  fulfilling  his  capacities, 
intellectual,  moral,  and  volitional.  None  can  be 
regarded  as  only  instruments  for  the  furtherance 
of  ends  in  which  they  have  themselves  no  direct 
share :  the  object  of  all  legislation,  the  trend  of 
all  social  action,  is  in  the  direction  of  enlarging 
the  spaces  of  personal  energy,  of  placing  tools, 
means  of  production,  within  the  reach  of  all, 
and  protecting  all  in  the  enjoyment  of  at  least 
a  portion  of  the  fruits  of  their  labour.  And  since 
the  individual  is  a  moral  agent,  with  an  ethical 
consciousness  which  witnesses  to  an  eternally 
right  and  wrong,  the  aim  of  political  endeavour 
has  been  to  liberate  the  conscience  from  all  that 

^  E.g.,  Enactments  as  to  games,  prices,  clothing,  wages,  cove- 
nants, &c. 


6        The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

shackles  it,  so  that  the  soul  may  be  free  to  follow 
the  voice  which  it  recognises  as  the  voice  of 
truth,  and  to  work  out  its  own  salvation. 

But  the  freedom  which  is  indispensable  to 
the  completion  of  personal  life  can  be  secured 
only  through  the  organisation  of  social  life.  The 
individual  neither  lives  to  himself  nor  lives  by 
himself.  "  By  nature,"  said  Aristotle,  "  man  is 
a  social  creature."  It  is  by  his  action  on  others 
and  their  reaction  on  him,  by  his  affinities  or 
antipathies,  by  his  relations  of  many  kinds,  that  he 
knows  himself,  that  he  expands,  that  he  realises 
his  selfhood.  It  may  be  true  that  "all  men  seek 
their  own."  But  two  qualifying  considerations 
are  also  true.  The  one  is,  that  each  man  needs  to 
be  protected  from  such  a  seeking  of  their  own 
by  others  as  shall  be  an  injury  to  him,  and  that 
others  need  to  be  protected  from  such  a  seeking 
of  his  own  by  each  man  as  shall  be  an  injury 
to  them.  Self-love  is  a  legitimate  motive  ;  but, 
without  imposing  restraints  that  may  impair  its 
vigour,  the  rankness  which  makes  it  basely  selfish 
must  be  eliminated.  And  the  other  consideration 
is,  that  men  cannot  have  their  own  apart  from  the 
co-operation  of  their  neighbour.  All  that  can  be 
regarded  as  the  property  of  a  person  is  not  only  a 
wealth  made  and  possessed  by  him ;  it  also  repre- 
sents a  wealth  to  which  many  have  contributed. 


The  Organisation  of  Social  Life.  7 

Thus,  as  John  Stuart  Mill  has  put  it,  "  the 
social  state  is  at  once  so  natural,  so  necessary, 
and  so  habitual  to  man,  that,  except  in  some  un- 
usual circumstances,  or  by  an  effort  of  voluntary 
abstraction,  he  never  conceives  himself  otherwise 
than  as  a  member  of  a  body;  and  this  asso- 
ciation is  riveted  more  and  more  as  mankind 
are  further  removed  from  the  state  of  savage 
independence."  ^ 

Society,  then,  is  the  second  of  the  chief  con- 
stituents of  civilisation.  Its  design  is,  or  should 
be,  not  to  exploit  but  to  complete  the  individual ; 
so  to  connect,  co  -  ordinate,  and  discipline  all 
powers  and  energies  that  the  members  in  par- 
ticular, whilst  contributing  to  a  common  wealth, 
shall  at  the  same  time  be  enabled  to  perfect  their 
own  life.^  It  imposes  checks  on  individualism, 
which  without  such  checks  would  degenerate  into 
anarchy.  It  represents  order;  but  order  is  the 
guardian  of  liberty,  the  object  at  which  it  aims 
being  that  neither  shall  a  man  work  ill  to  his 
neighbour  nor  shall  his  neighbour  work  ill  to  him, 
that  rights  shall  be  balanced  by  duties,  and  that 

^  Utilitarianism,  cliap.  iii.  pp.  46,  47. 

^  "  Man  does  not  at  first  naturally  think  of  himself  as  an  inde- 
pendent individual,  but  rather  as  part  of  a  system,  and  this  system 
may,  in  a  very  real  sense,  be  called  a  self,  since  it  is  the  universe  to 
which  the  individual  refers  the  conduct  of  his  life." — Mackenzie, 
Manual  of  Ethics,  p.  117. 


8         The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Ch7trch. 

by  the  maintenance  of  this  balance  the  welfare  of 
the  whole  and  the  welfare  of  the  unit  shall  be  har- 
monised. "  A  society  can  have  no  happiness 
which  is  not  the  happiness  of  its  separate  mem- 
bers, any  more  than  an  edition  of  '  Hamlet '  can 
have  any  dramatic  qualities  which  do  not  exist 
between  the  covers  of  each  separate  copy.  In 
this  respect  social  science  presents  an  absolute 
contrast  to  physical.  The  physical  unit  is  of  in- 
terest to  us  only  for  the  sake  of  the  aggregate. 
The  social  aggregate  is  of  interest  to  us  only  for 
the  sake  of  the  unit."^ 

The  most  modern  of  sciences  is  that  of  Soci- 
ology—  ''the  science  of  the  origin,  growth,  and 
welfare  of  the  collective  life  of  mankind."  During 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  largely  owing  to 
the  impulse  given  by  Comte,  scientific  form  was 
given  to  what  was  previously  an  undigested 
mass  of  information  and  observation  as  to  the 
history  of  man.  An  attentive  survey  of  the 
successive  civilisations  in  which  the  evolution  of 
society  is  traced  warranted  generalisations;  and, 
though  the  knowledge  of  all  the  hnks  in  the 
succession  is  still  wanting,  the  purpose  fulfilling 
through  the  ages,  and  even  the  process  by  which 
the  purpose  is  being  accomplished,  are  now  more 
evident.     Not  only  have  phenomena  been  system- 

^  Mallock,  Contemporary  Review,  1895,  p.  890. 


Sttbjects  i^elating  to  Organised  Social  Life,    g 

atised ;  principles  and  laws  which  bear  on  both 
the  present  and  the  future  have  been  expounded. 
And  more  and  more  these,  with  their  applications 
and  relevant  issues,  are  studied.  For  the  tend- 
ency of  the  most  earnest  thought  and  action  of 
the  day  is  social.  The  most  inspiring  ideals  are 
social.  *'  The  social  question  is  the  religious 
question."  Many  causes  of  many  kinds  con- 
tribute to  the  investiture  of  subjects  bearing  on 
the  constitution  and  the  methods  of  organised 
social  life  with  a  paramount  importance. 

These  subjects  connect  with  the  domains  of 
economics  and  politics,  but  they  are  not  on 
this  account  to  be  regarded  as  outwith  the  pur- 
view of  a  treatise  which  especially  regards  the 
work  of  the  Church.  It  may  be  argued  that 
the  sphere  of  the  Church  is  ethical  rather  than 
economic,  whereas  the  sphere  of  social  science  is 
economic  rather  than  ethical.  This  may  be  so : 
the  main  line  of  reference  in  both  cases  may  be 
correctly  stated ;  but  sciences  or  agencies  which 
refer  to  human  wellbeing  must  include,  directly 
or  indirectly,  man's  condition  at  all  its  points. 
Their  ultimate  aim  is  practical — the  improvement 
and  elevation  of  man's  estate.  And  whatever 
affects  one  or  another  class  of  facts  relating  to 
this,  whatever  appeals  to  one  or  another  side  of 
the  complex  human  nature,  whatever  is  occupied 


lo      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chtirch. 

with  one  or  another  series  of  relations,  impinges 
necessarily  on  all  other  classes,  sides,  and  series. 
No  hard-and-fast  line  can  be  drawn  between 
ethics  and  economics.  If  we  are  bent  on  ascer- 
taining and  promoting  the  conditions  of  a  healthy 
collectivism,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  we 
shall  find  the  most  vital  of  these  conditions  to  be 
ethical.  So  inevitable  and  constant  is  the  glance 
of  sociology  towards  moral  standards,  qualities, 
ideals,  that  it  has  been  not  unfitly  described  as 
"ethics  applied  to  the  economic  situation." 

The  ethical  reference  suggests  the  third  of  the 
factors  of  Christian  civilisation — the  Church.  To 
overlook  the  influence  which  the  Church  has 
exercised  on  the  social  life  of  the  past  nineteen 
centuries  is  impossible  ;  to  depreciate  that  influ- 
ence is  to  oppose  the  verdict  of  history.  Opinions 
may  vary  as  to  the  causes  of  the  spread  of 
Christianity  and  the  reasons  of  the  hold  which  it 
obtained  on  nations ;  they  may  vary  in  the  judg- 
ment formed  on  the  means  and  methods  of  its 
diffusion  ;  they  may  vary  in  their  estimate  of  the 
extent  of  the  benefit  conferred  on  the  peoples 
which  have  come  under  its  sway :  but  the  reality 
and  vastness  of  its  power  cannot  with  fairness  be 
challenged.  For  long,  it  worked  under  the  sur- 
face of  society  with,  as  we  may  say,  "  a  secret 
band."    Silently,  as  compared  with  other  systems^ 


The  Chitrch  and  Humanity,  1 1 

it  leavened  the  lump.  Then  it  emerged  as  a  force 
which  had  undermined  the  heathenism  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  had  penetrated  into  regions 
beyond.  A  new  type  of  brotherhood,  with  prin- 
ciples and  laws  of  cohesion  permeated  by  a  new 
ideality,  was  established,  and  the  world  under- 
stood that  the  Galilean  had  conquered.  M. 
Guizot  reminds  us  that  in  civilisation  there  is 
"  a  something  more  "  than  individual  interests, 
than  political  combinations,  than  racial  develop- 
ments, than  social  power  and  happiness, — there  is 
humanity.^  It  is  this  "something  more"  which 
the  Church  has  not  only  emphasised,  but,  it  may 
be  said,  in  view  of  the  amplitudes  given  to  it, 
has  created.  In  its  preaching  of  Christ  to  the 
world  it  declared  Him  to  be  the  archetypal 
humanity,  in  Whom  is  the  life  which  is  the 
light  of  men,  and  in  union  with  Whom  local  and 
tribal  distinctions  are  only  as  the  differing  notes 
of  a  perfect  harmony.  Lacordaire  was  not  a 
mere  rhetorician  when  he  declared  that  the  first 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  was  humanity.  The 
consummation  for  which  the  Church  prays  and 
strives  is  a  redeemed  and  glorified  humanity,  the 
former  things — sorrow,  pain,  sin,  death — having 
passed  away.  And  through  the  ages  its  testi- 
mony,  not  so  full  and  clear  as   it  should    have 

^  History  of  Civilisation  in  Europe,  Lecture  I, 


12      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

been,  but  still  audible  in  the  midst  of  the 
struggles,  the  fevers,  the  ambitions,  of  social  life, 
has  always  been,  "  Justice,  righteousness,  love,  are 
the  crowning  features  of  the  humanity  which  is  in 
God's  image,  and  the  chief  elements  in  the  real 
wealth  of  nations." 

It  has  been  observed  that  '*  there  is  no  one 
word  which,  from  the  variety  of  acceptations, 
hath  bred  greater  difference  in  the  Church  of 
God  than  the  word  Church."^  In  the  pages  of 
this  book  the  word  is  employed  in  its  least 
controversial  sense.  We  are  not  concerned 
with  articles  of  faith,  with  creeds  and  confes- 
sions, with  disputes  relating  either  to  doctrine 
or  to  government.  We  hold  with  Hooker  when, 
after  referring  to  ''schisms,  factions,  and  such 
other  evils  whereunto  the  body  of  the  Church 
is  subject,"  he  adds,  "  Sound  and  sick  remain 
both  of  the  same  body,  so  long  as  both  parts 
retain  by  outward  profession  that  vital  sub- 
stance of  truth  which  maketh  Christian  religion 
to  differ  from  theirs  w^hich  acknowledge  not  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  the  blessed  Saviour  of  man- 
kind, give  no  credit  to  His  glorious  Gospel,  and 
have  His  sacraments,  the  seals  of  eternal  life, 
in  derision."  2      it  was  the  faith  of  which  Jesus 

^  Covel's  Defence  of  Hooker,  art.  xi. 

'  Hooker's  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  vol.  ii.  pp.  302,  303, 


The  Social  Service  of  the  Chtirch.       13 

Christ  is  ''the  author  and  perfcctcr "  that, 
after  its  introduction,  revolutionised  the  spirit 
of  the  societies  and  commonwealths  into  which 
it  penetrated,  and  finally  moulded  the  ethical 
ideals  of  Europea^n  civilisation.  And  the  point 
specially  in  evidence  is,  that  this  faith  was  pro- 
pagated by  means  of  an  institution,  with  laws 
and  officers  and  ordinances  peculiar  to  itself, 
for  which  the  authority  of  Christ  and  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Spirit  of  truth  Whom  Christ  had 
promised  were  claimed.  Under  the  name  of 
the  Church  we  shall  comprehend  "  every  such 
politic  society  of  men  as  did  and  doth  in  re- 
ligion hold  that  truth  which  is  proper  to  Christ- 
ianity." ^  Our  outlook  shall  be,  not  ecclesiastical 
constitution  and  history,  but  the  social  service 
of  the  Christian  collectivism.  On  the  more 
spiritual  work  and  results  of  the  Church  we 
shall  not  dwell,  the  purpose  being  to  indicate 
the  relation  of  Christian  ethics  and  disciplines 
to  the  evolution  and  manifestation  of  the  life 
of  man,  or,  as  otherwise  it  may  be  stated,  to  the 
betterment  of  the  individual  as  well  as  of  society. 
In  the  elucidation  of  its  theme,  this  treatise 
divides  into  two  parts.  In  the  one  part,  the 
Church  is  in  the  foreground,  and  the  topics 
considered  will  be,  its  social  vocation,  its  aggres- 

^  Hooker's  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  vol.  iii.  p.  253. 


14      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

sive  action  on  civic  societies,  the  position  and 
influence  of  National  Churches,  especially  the 
National  Church  of  Scotland.  In  the  other 
part,  the  social  life  of  Great  Britain  is  in  the 
foreground :  its  problems,  burdens,  moral  and 
political  trends,  will  be  dealt  with,  and  the 
reference  to  the  Church  will  bear  on  its  attitude 
towards  the  issues  thus  presented,  and  its  en- 
deavour to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  situation 
by  which  it  is  confronted.  The  subject  is  one 
of  great  and  varied  interest  —  too  vast,  indeed, 
to  be  adequately  considered  within  the  limits 
which  must  be  observed.  All  that  can  be  an- 
ticipated or  aimed  at  is  a  consideration  which, 
though  necessarily  incomplete,  shall  be  candid, 
honest,  inspired  by  a  sincere  desire  to  know  and 
express  "whatsoever  things"  connected  with  it 
"  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honourable, 
whatsoever  things  are  just."  It  cannot  be 
affirmed  that  in  the  thought  and  the  utterance 
there  is  no  bias :  let  it  be  frankly  allowed 
that  there  is,  and  that  the  bias  is  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Bishop  Westcott's  saying,  "The  proof 
of  Christianity  which  is  prepared  by  God,  as  I 
believe,  for  our  times  is  a  Christian  society  filled 
with  one  spirit  in  two  forms  —  Righteousness 
and  Love."i 

^  The  Incarnation  and  Common  Life. 


15 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    SOCIAL   ASPECT    OF    CHRIST'S    TEACHING. 

**  All  Human  Society,"  writes  Dean  Church, 
''  is  the  receptacle,  nursery,  and  dwelling-place  of 
ideas,  shaped  and  limited  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  society — ideas  which  live  and  act  on  it  and 
in  it ;  which  are  preserved,  passed  on,  and  trans- 
mitted from  one  generation  to  another;  which 
would  be  merely  abstractions  or  individual  opinions 
if  they  were  not  endowed  with  the  common  life 
which  their  reception  in  a  society  gives  them."  ^ 
Now,  with  reference  to  the  Church,  the  inquiry 
which  the  truth  contained  in  these  words  suggests 
is.  What  are  the  ideas,  principles,  aims  which 
have  found  a  home  in  it,  which  have  received  a 
special  determination,  and,  in  accordance  with 
this  determination,  have  been  made  effective  by 
its  corporate  action,  which  have  been  propagated 
from  generation  to  generation,  aglow  with  the  life 

1  Oxford  House  Papers,  No.  xvii. 


1 6      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church, 

imparted  to  them  by  their  assimilation  to  the 
thoughts,  and  their  enforcement  by  the  energies, 
of  living  men  ?  It  is  an  inquiry  whose  range  is  far 
more  extensive  than  the  purpose  of  this  treatise 
necessitates  or  warrants.  We  must  exclude  from 
our  purview  theology  and  ritual,  except  in  so  far  as 
they  bear  on  the  subjects  to  which  we  are  limited 
—  the  truths  and  influences  embodied  in  the 
Church,  through  whose  operation  currents  of 
sympathy  have  been  formed,  manners  and  morals 
have  been  moulded,  higher  types  of  unity  have 
been  constituted,  and  the  conditions  both  of 
communal  and  of  individual  life  have  been 
elevated.  The  points  of  such  investigation  are 
included  in  the  phrase,  the  social  vocation  of  the 
Church  ;  and  the  three  lines  along  which  it  is 
proposed  that  this  investigation  shall  proceed  are, 
this  vocation  as  interpreted,  first,  in  the  teaching 
or  the  mind  of  Christ ;  second,  in  the  character 
and  obligations  of  the  Church's  election  ;  and 
third,  in  the  conceptions  which  dominate  the 
Christian  consciousness  and  are  the  perennial 
springs  of  the  Christian  inspiration.  The  first  of 
these  interpretative  topics  will  be  the  subject  of 
this  chapter. 

In  the  Gospels,  Jesus,  the  ''teacher  come  from 
God,"  is  set  before  us  with  a  Jewish  environment. 
A  nation  or  people  appropriates   its  units.     To 


Christ's  recognition  of  the  Jewish  Polity.     17 

the  units  the  nation  marks  an  inheritance  *'  of 
aptitudes,  stored  materials,  a  thousand  and  one 
traditions  of  the  past."  Jesus  did  not  renounce 
this  inheritance.  On  the  contrary,  he  accepted 
it.  He  observed  the  national  customs.  He  kept 
the  national  festivals.  He  began  his  ministry  by 
reading  from  the  scroll  of  Isaiah.  He  pointed 
to  the  ancient  Scriptures  as  the  verification 
of  His  Messiahship.  He  wept  over  Jerusalem, 
and  exclaimed  through  His  tears,  "  How  often 
would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together !  "  ^ 
All  that  made  the  core  and  inner  truth  of 
Israel's  corporate  existence  was  recognised  in 
His  doctrine.  It  was  only  the  shell  which  had 
guarded  the  kernel  ''  until  the  time  of  the  re- 
formation "  that  was  set  aside;  the  kernel  itself 
was  conserved,  in  order  that  it  might  be  completed 
and  glorified.  ''  Think  not,"  He  protests,  "  that 
I  came  to  destroy  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  :  I 
came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil."  ^ 

His  Church,  therefore,  is  the  heir  to  all  that,  as 
distinguished  from  the  merely  dispensational,  is 
divinely  true  in  the  old  Jewish  polity.  Now  the 
divinely  true  thing  in  it  was  the  idea  of  a  social 
order  based  on  righteousness,  on  "doing  justly, 
loving  mercy,  and  walking  humbly  with  God."  ^ 
The  Church  and  the  nation  were  not  regarded  as 

1  St  Mat.  xxiii.  37.  2  g^  ]^jat_  y_  J7_  3  Micah  vi.  8. 

B 


1 8      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chttrch. 

two  separate  factors  in  the  national  life.  They 
were  regarded  as  one.  The  kingdom  was  a 
kingdom  of  priests.  It  was  bound  together  by 
divine  laws,  and  by  a  worship  which  consecrated 
all  the  aspects  of  life.  Every  Jew  was  called  to 
realise  that  he  was  a  member  of  a  consecrated 
nationality — bound  to  it,  to  every  other  member 
of  it,  and,  with  every  other  member,  to  Jehovah. 
Was  not  Israel  Jehovah's  "  son,"  His  first-born, 
His  peculiar  treasure?  To  be  faithful  to  Him, 
to  keep  His  laws,  and  be  loyal  to  the  brotherly 
covenant,  was  the  one  imperative  obligation  of 
citizenship.  The  consequence  of  this  mystical 
humanism  was,  and  to  this  day — "  scattered  and 
peeled  "  though  the  Jewish  race  may  be — is,  an 
intense  solidarity,  and,  within  the  tribal  limits,  a 
fervent  and  vigorous  social  life.  Under  the  theo- 
cracy, there  were  approximations  to  democratic 
equalities.  The  provisions  of  the  Law  did  not 
expressly  prohibit,  but  they  softened,  the  harsher 
features  of  class  and  grade.  Underlying  them 
was  the  sense  of  an  inalienable  reverence  that  was 
due  to  the  person  of  man  or  woman  ;  and  in  many 
peculiar  enactments,  such  as  those  of  the  jubilee 
(perhaps  never  fully  observed) — liberations  from 
servile  condition  were  contemplated.  It  was  held 
that  every  unit  of  the  sacred  nationality  was  en- 
titled to  the  care  of  the  State.     The  poor  were 


Jewish  and  Christian  Ideals  of  Society.      1 9 

to  be  helped,  the  infirm  and  aged  were  to  be 
treated  with  pity.  Even  the  stranger  within  the 
gates  had  his  rights.  Nor  was  the  responsibihty 
one-sided.  If  the  community,  as  a  whole,  placed 
itself  behind  its  members,  its  members  were 
reared  and  trained  in  the  sense  of  their  duty  to 
the  community.  The  male  child  in  earliest  in- 
fancy received  the  seal  of  membership.  Through 
the  family  he  obtained  his  place  in  the  nation. 
By  means  of  the  family  discipline  he  was  educated 
in  the  life  of  citizenship.  The  honouring  of  father 
and  mother  was  emphasised  as  the  condition  of 
material  as  well  as  spiritual  prosperity,^  of  foun- 
tains playing  on  a  land  of  corn  and  wine,  and  of 
heavens  dropping  down  dew.  Thus  a  fellowship 
was  established  whose  first  commandment  was, 
"  Love  Jehovah,  thy  God,  with  all  thy  might," 
and  whose  second  commandment,  like  to  the 
first,  was,  "  Love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 

Now,  all  this  was  assumed  by  Christ  and  passed 
on  by  Him  to  His  organised  discipleship.  There 
was  no  need  to  make  a  brand-new  ideal  of  society; 
the  ideal  was  there,  requiring  only  to  be  separated 
from  racial  exclusiveness,  from  a  ceremonial  which 
had  outlived  its  day,  and  from  a  dead-weight  of 
traditionalism  which  had  obscured  its  beauty, 
and,   thus   separated,  to  obtain  ampler  outlines, 

^  Exod.  XX.  12. 


20      TJie  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

freer  expression,  and  a  more  efficient  internal 
dynamic.  This  Jesus  did,  and  in  Him  the 
ancient  social  order  lives,  risen  again  and  ful- 
filled in  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  it  is  the 
mission  of  His  Church  to  realise  on  the  earth. 
The  originality  of  His  teaching  did  not  consist 
in  the  saying  of  new  things,  or  the  propounding 
of  new  truths.  ''  He  taught  as  one  having 
authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes,"  and,  in  re- 
spect both  of  their  form  and  of  their  content. 
His  utterances  expressed  what  was  incompre- 
hensible to  men  "  whose  hearts  had  waxed 
gross."  But  that  which  He  taught  was  old, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  of  God,  who  is  from  ever- 
lasting. "My  teaching,"  He  testified,  "is  not 
Mine,  but  His  that  sent  Me."  ^  ''  I  do  nothing  of 
Myself,  but  as  the  Father  taught  Me,  I  speak 
these  things."^  Although,  being  of  God,  His 
doctrine  was  hidden  from  "  the  princes  of  this 
world,"  yet  there  had  been,  in  all  the  times  and 
in  all  the  counsels  of  the  truly  wise,  scintillations 
of  the  light  which  was  lustrous  in  Him — ''  the 
Light  which  lighteth  every  man  coming  into  the 
world  "^ — the  Light  which  was  especially  lumin- 
ous in  the  people  whose  Judge,  whose  Lawgiver, 
whose  King  was  Jehovah.  Jesus  interpreted  the 
truth   into  which  holy  prophets  since  the  world 

^  St  John  vii.  i6.  -  St  John  viii.  28.  ^  St  John  i.  9. 


The  Originality  of  Christ's  Teaching.     21 

began  had  searched,  but  which  He  saw  in  the 
Father.  He  was,  He  is,  the  Truth.  His  words 
are  wonderful  flashes,  in  which  God  is  revealed  to 
man  as  the  Father,  and  man  is  revealed  to  himself 
as  the  son,  and  individual  men,  sharers  in  this 
sonship,  as  brethren.  In  the  universes  of  thought 
which  they  open,  we  discern  the  "  altar-stairs 
sloping  through  darkness  up  to  God."  If,  in 
view  of  this,  we  inquire  into  the  secret  of  the 
originality,  we  see  that  it  means  the  crystallis- 
ing of  scattered  rays,  the  unifying  of  mind  and 
will  by  the  knowledge  which  is  life  eternal ;  the 
newness  gained  by  the  disclosure  of  the  centre  to 
which  all  the  lines  of  the  eternally  good  and  true 
converge ;  the  newness  of  irradiated  perception, 
of  vitalised  energy,  of  magnificent  vistas ;  the 
newness,  above  all,  of  the  glory  beheld  in  His 
own  personality — the  one  unique  Manhood,  full 
of  grace  and  truth,  in  whom 

"  the  Word  had  breath  and  wrought 
With  human  hands  the  Creed  of  Creeds 
In  lovehness  of  perfect  deeds, 
More  strong  than  all  poetic  thought."  ^ 

Thus,  conserving  the  spirit  of  the  old  order  by 
declaring  the  reality  in  which  it  is  completed,  by 
disengaging  what  is  vital  in  it  from  the  outward 
forms   through  which    the   things  given  of  God 

1  In  Memoriam,  36. 


2  2       The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

were  adapted  io  a  rudimentary  period  in  the 
world's  education,  Christ  has  unfolded  the  prin- 
ciples of  all  wholesome  social  evolution.  It  is 
true  that  He  connects  the  seen  with  the  unseen, 
that  he  regards  human  life  not  so  much  in  its 
temporal  as  in  its  spiritual  and  eternal  aspects. 
But  He  connects  ;  He  does  not  put  asunder  what 
His  Father  had  joined  together.  If  He  reaches 
to  "the  spiritual  beyond  the  natural,"  He  holds 
"  firmly  to  the  natural "  in  order  that  He  may  so 
reach.  M.  Renan  has  argued,  and  many  have 
similarly  argued,  ''  The  aim  of  Christianity  was  in 
no  respect  the  perfecting  of  human  society  or  the 
increase  of  the  sum  of  individual  happiness.  One 
does  not  think  of  decorating  the  hovel  in  which 
he  is  to  remain  for  only  a  moment."  ^  Is  not  this 
a  travesty  of  Christ's  Christianity  ?  To  Him,  the 
earth  is  never  a  hovel.  In  it,  He  sees  His  Father's 
house.  Its  sights  and  sounds  have  an  inexpress- 
ible charm  to  His  eye.  Its  duties  and  demands 
are  enforced  alike  by  His  precepts  and  His  ex- 
ample. "The  whole  temporal  show  is  related" 
to  the  spiritual,  not  in  a  poor  way,  but  "  royally 
and  built  up  to  eterne  significance  through  the 
open  arms  of  God."^  The  more  vividly  this 
royal  relation  is  realised,  the  more  fully.  He  tells 

^  Quoted  in  Prof.  Bruce's  'Kingdom  of  God,'  p.  131. 
-  Aurora  Leigh,  Book  7, 


The  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  23 

us,  will  the  significance  of  all  life  and  of  all  the 
facts  of  life  be  discerned.  It  is  the  vocation  of 
His  disciple  to  aim  at  perfection,  at  the  perfecting 
of  man's  estate  in  the  situation  and  in  the  circum- 
stances which  are  present  to  him,  and  thus  to 
"  make  the  heaven  he  hopes  indeed  his  home." 

Let  us  see  how  this,  the  social  trend  of  Christ's 
doctrine,  is  illustrated  in  the  discourse  which  is 
frequently  cited  as  "  the  ethical  manifesto  of 
Jesus."  The  two  questions  in  connexion  with 
which  the  substance  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  ^  may  be  summarised  are,  What  is  the 
good  to  be  desired  as  the  chief  end  of  human 
endeavour  ?  and.  What  is  the  conduct  by  means 
of  which  this  end  is  to  be  attained  ? 

The  answer  to  these  questions  is  explicit. 

Christ's  siniunum  homiin  is  the  Old  Testament 
ideal  which  the  prophets  of  Israel  had  expounded, 
but  freed  from  the  limitations  under  which  it  was 
presented  *' to  them  of  old  time,"  and  clothed 
with  a  higher  force  and  authority.  The  com- 
mandment, "  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
His  righteousness,"  gives  a  law  of  life  which  is 
opposed  to  aims  that  begin  and  end  with  self, 
that  make  a  mere  selfish  earthly  gain  the  domin- 
ating purpose  and  interest.  It  includes  a  legiti- 
mate self-love.     That  a  man  be  true  to  himself, 

^  St  Mat.  v.-vii. 


24      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

that  he  develop  his  individuality  in  the  aims  and 
preferences  which  are  natural  to  it,  is  implied. 
But  the  contention  is  that  his  real  blessedness 
cannot  be  found  so  long  as  he  lives  like  an  iso- 
lated individual,  that  it  can  be  found  only  by 
harmonising  his  existence  with  a  divine  order 
which  is  law  for  him  and  for  all  men.  This 
order  is  to  be  his  first  and  supreme  care  ;  the 
seeking  of  it  in  all  that  marks  his  opportunity 
is  to  be  his  most  strenuous  effort.  Thus,  and 
thus  only,  will  he  prove  himself  to  be  the  child 
of  that  all-loving  Father  "  who  maketh  His  sun 
to  rise  on  the  evil  and  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain 
on  the  just  and  the  unjust."  The  kingdom  of 
God  is  the  kingdom  of  the  Father,  and  the 
righteousness  of  God,  being  the  righteousness  of 
the  Father,  can  be  possessed  only  in  a  life  filial 
towards  Him  and  brotherly  towards  all — the  life 
whose  distinguishing  features  are  humility,  rever- 
ence, sincerity,  devotion  to  human  wellbeing,  self- 
renouncing,  self-sacrificing  love. 

Without  minutely  analysing  the  elements  of  the 
conduct  which  corresponds  to  the  end  thus  in- 
dicated, three  points  in  the  sermon  of  Christ  may 
be  noted.  First,  there  is  the  inner  qualification. 
The  Hebrew  morality  is  distinguished  from  both 
the  Greek  and  the  Roman  by  the  intensity  with 
which    it   insists   on    the   exercise   of  the    moral 


Social  and  Personal  Righteousness.      2  5 

will,  on  truth  in  the  inward  parts,  as  the  prime 
condition  of  rectitude.  It  has  a  more  searching 
view  than  that  which  was  possible  when  the 
one  word  to  koXov  was  used  to  signify  both  the 
beautiful  and  the  noble.  "  The  Greek  philo- 
sophers," as  it  has  been  observed,  "  got  into 
trouble  through  their  failure  to  distinguish  be- 
tween moral  conduct  and  art.  When  the  moral 
life  was  regarded  as  beautiful,  they  were  tempted 
to  look  on  it  as  if  it  were  simply  an  artistic  pro- 
duct." ^  Now  Christ,  in  the  first  words  of  this 
discourse,  makes  character  the  foundation  of  the 
righteous  life.  The  Beatitudes,  in  which  He 
sketches  the  several  sides  of  the  happy  or  blessed 
man,  are  not  outlines  of  the  merely  beautiful ; 
they  are  outlines  of  a  goodness  which  involves 
denials  of  self  and  strenuous  moral  effort.  Sup- 
plemented by  the  striking  sentences  which  ex- 
hibit His  claim  to  the  authority  of  the  divine 
Lawgiver,  they  pierce  **  to  the  dividing  of  soul 
and  spirit,  and  are  quick  to  discern  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart."  ^  Further,  the  attitude 
of  the  soul  towards  the  Father,  as  the  object  of 
supreme  worship,  and  towards  the  neighbour-man 
in  the  exercise  of  benevolence,  is  depicted  as  an 
attitude  entirely  removed  from  the  self-conscious- 
ness, the  posing  for  effect,  which   is  the  fruitful 

^  Mackenzie's  Manual  of  Ethics,  p.  30.  ^  Heb.  iv.  12. 


26      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  CJiurcJi. 

source  of  hypocrisy  or  part-acting — an  attitude  of 
joyous  surrender  to  the  holy  will  of  God,  of  a 
giving  and  doing  in  which  the  eye  is  single  and 
through  which  treasures  are  "laid  up  in  heaven, 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  consume,  and 
where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal." 
Finally,  the  principles  and  references  which  are 
to  rule  all  transactions  are  presented.  The  life 
is  to  be  lived  frankly  in  the  world,  yet  the  mere 
lower  w^orld-things  are  not  to  be  the  main  pros- 
pect. Happiness  is  a  natural  desire,  but  to  pur- 
sue happiness  as  the  end  of  action  is  to  lose  it. 
The  purity  and  the  liberty  of  the  soul  are  not  to 
be  imperilled  by  the  corrosive  influence  of  carking 
cares  and  petty  strivings.  Food  and  raiment  are 
things  needful ;  in  the  endeavour  after  what  is 
w^orthiest  and  noblest  they  will  be  added.  The 
tendency  to  judge  others  is  to  be  cribbed,  cabined, 
and  confined:  men  should  judge  themselves  rather 
than  their  neighbours.  For  all,  the  golden  rule  is 
to  do  to  others  as  they  would  have  others  do  to 
them.  A  sordid  commercialism  is  unworthy  of 
the  son  of  God.  Let  him  realise,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  brave  independence  which  is  the  result 
of  a  constant  dependence  on  God,  and  on  the 
other,  the  responsibilities  of  the  brotherly  cove- 
nant. Let  him  set  his  affection,  not  on  what  can 
be  won  for  self,  but  rather  on  what  self  can  win 


Citizenship  in  the  Kingdom  of  God.      27 

for  others.  Let  him  merge  the  personal  in  the 
social,  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Father.  This  is  the 
strait  gate  through  which  the  Christian  disciple 
enters  into  the  amplitude  of  his  inheritance.  This 
is  the  house-building  on  the  rock,  *'firm  and  sure 
eternally."  This  is  to  be  perfect  even  as  the 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.  This  is  the  law  of 
the  brotherhood  which  Christ,  with  His  emphatic 
*'  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,"  proclaims  to  His 
follower. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  epitomises  the 
ethical  truth  which,  in  one  form  or  another,  is 
expressed  in  all  Christ's  teaching.  He  in- 
dividualises, but  if  He  insists  on  personal 
repentance,  personal  faith,  personal  regenera- 
tion, it  is  because  this  is  essential  to  the 
realisation  of  the  blessings  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  end  of  His  calling  of  men  is  citizen- 
ship in  this  kingdom.  Its  nature,  its  condi- 
tions, its  aims,  are  the  subject  which  pervades 
His  utterance.  In  His  parables.  He  traces  the 
analogies  to  it  which  are  "writ  large"  in  the 
natural  world.  Baur  contended  that  the  king- 
dom, as  held  before  the  Jewish  mind  by  Jesus, 
was  the  fulfilment  of  Israel's  theocratic  hopes ; 
and  this  is  so  far  true.  But  the  idea  of  the 
Hebrew  theocracy  is  spiritualised  and  elevated. 
Employing  figures  of  speech  "  understanded  by 


2  8      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church, 

the  people,"  Jesus  speaks  of  the  "  sitting  down 
with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob "  ;  but  He 
describes  those  who  shall  sit  down  as  coming 
from  the  east  and  the  west  and  the  north  and 
the  south,  whilst  some  who  claimed  the  privileges 
of  the  seat  as  the  right  of  their  covenant  shall 
be  cast  out.^  Mere  nationality,  mere  external 
title.  He  declares,  cannot  count.  There  must 
be  the  inward  fitness  as  well  as  the  outward 
seal — the  baptism  with  the  Spirit  and  the 
baptism  with  water.  And  the  theocracy  itself, 
in  His  representation,  is  not  an  exclusive  Church- 
State.  It  is  not  a  State  with  such  distinct 
political  outlines  that  men  shall  be  able  to 
exclaim,  "  Lo,  it  is  there."  Neither  is  it  a 
mere  hazy  cloudland.  He  conceives  of  it  as 
having  a  visibility,  as  a  society  with  the  tokens 
and  characteristics  of  a  society.  But  it  is  free 
from  the  complications  of  human  governments 
and  ambitions.  It  is  an  ethical  commonwealth, 
descending  from  God  out  of  heaven  that  it  may 
pervade  and  sanctify  and  enrich  all  nations  and 
peoples  in  all  their  life.  It  is  to  take  shape 
in  His  Church,  though,  in  its  full  and  proper 
glory,  it  transcends  His  Church ;  it  is  to  be 
ever  so  far  revealed  that  men  shall  discern  what 
in  its  nature  and  in  its  purpose  it  is,  and  that  it 

1  St  Luke  xiii.  29. 


The  Catholic  Character  of  the  Kingdom.      29 

shall  draw  men  towards  it,  supplying  the  bonds 
of  an  ever-perfecting  sympathy,  reconciling  them 
to  God,  and  linking  them  together  in  the  love 
which  is  more  than  mere  justice,  which  is  the 
fulfilling  of  law.  In  one  of  His  word-pictures, 
Jesus  compares  it  to  a  great  supper  prepared 
by  a  king,  to  which  those  who,  by  covenant 
position,  are  bidden  will  not  come — all  be- 
ginning to  make  excuse.  The  invitation  which 
they  reject  is  passed  to  the  waifs  of  street  and 
lane,  of  highway  and  hedge,  and  by  the  com- 
pulsions of  grace  they  are  brought  in  that  the 
king's  house  may  be  filled.^  In  this  similitude, 
the  social  and  catholic  character  of  the  king- 
dom is  portrayed.  It  interprets  the  supper  of 
humanity — the  highest  good  of  life.  Poverty  is 
a  disintegrating,  separatist  force.  Men,  in  their 
poverty,  wandering  wearily,  halt  and  maimed, 
in  highway  and  hedge,  are  called  from  their 
isolations  into  fellowship,  into  communion  with 
each  other,  into  the  common  participation  of 
the  wealth  which  is  theirs  by  the  gift  of  God. 
It  was  for  the  establishment  of  this  brother- 
hood, for  the  founding  of  this  commonwealth 
in  the  house  of  humanity,  that  Christ  lived,  and 
taught,  and  suffered,  and  died.  His  prospect  is 
that  which  is  sketched  in  another  of  His  com- 

^  St  Luke  xiv.  16-24. 


30      TJie  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

parisons — that  in  which  he  traces  the  growth 
of  the  grain  of  mustard-seed,  less  than  all  seeds, 
into  the  tree  greater  than  herbs,  which  over- 
spreads the  earth,  "so  that  the  birds  of  the 
heaven  come  and  lodge  in  its  branches."  ^ 
There  is  an  infinite  capacity  of  expansion  to 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  to  all  diversities 
and  developments  of  life,  in  the  word  of  Him 
who  is  the  Word  of  God  and  the  Son  of  man. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  "  His  anthro- 
pology contains  the  germ  of  all  manner  of  social 
improvement  in  the  earthly  life  of  man."  ^ 

1  St  Mat.  xiii.  31,  32.  -  The  Kingdom  of  God,  p.  131. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    SOCIAL   VOCATION    OF   THE    CHURCH. 

In  the  previous  chapter,  the  social  aspect  of 
Christ's  teaching  was  indicated.  More  or  less, 
such  an  aspect  must  be  impressed  on  every 
system  of  thought  which  relates  to  human  con- 
duct ;  certainly,  in  any  consideration  of  the 
words  of  Jesus  it  is  impossible  to  overlook  it. 
But,  to  recur  to  a  point  already  glanced  at,  it 
is  frequently  urged  that  His  ethic  contemplates 
the  righteousness  of  the  individual  rather  than 
that  of  a  corporate  body.  The  assertion  is  not 
without  justification.  It  was  no  part  of  His 
plan  to  interfere  with  existing  political  condi- 
tions. His  kingdom  was  in  the  world,  but  it 
was  not  of  the  world.  Neither  did  He  come 
directly  into  collision  with  any  world-realm,  nor 
did  He  undertake  to  regulate  matters  connected 
with  property  and  administration  or  with  civil 
issues  between  man  and  man.     His  purpose  was 


32       The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chtirch. 

to   create   a   social  conscience   by  first    purifying 
and  uplifting  the  standard  of  the  individual  con- 
science.      We    interpret     His    mind    when    we 
argue,    '*  Make    the    members    of    a    community 
personally  righteous,  inspire  them  at  least  with 
the    feehng    that    '  Right    is    right    and    God    is 
God.'     Give  them  a  lofty  type  of  rectitude,  and 
imbue   them   with    a    passion   for    rectitude :    in 
so   doing,   you   lay   the    axe   at    the    root    of   all 
political  injustice,  and  secure  the  only  enduring 
basis  of  public  morality."     But  Christ  did  more 
than   work   indirectly,  through   the   regeneration 
of  personal  character,  towards  the  improvement 
of  communal  life.     He  had  always  in   His  view 
the  formation   of  a  society  which  should  mirror 
the     divine     order,    the     kingdom    of    God ;     a 
society  by  whose  ministries  and  in  whose  mem- 
bership   individual    souls    should    be    nourished 
and  strengthened  in  goodness,  and  which,  ''  fitly 
joined   together   and   compacted    by   that   which 
every  joint  supplies,"  ^  should  propagate  its  ideal 
in   the  civic  societies  surrounding   it.      Even  in 
the    Sermon    on    the    Mount,    representing    the 
earlier  stage  of  His  teaching,  the  unity  of  His 
disciples    is    the    objective.      Looking    on    them, 
He  said,  ''Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth."  ^     He 
pointed  to  the  arena  of  their  action,  the  earth, 

1  Eph.  iv.  1 6.  -  St  Mat.  v.  13. 


The  Constitution  of  Christian  Society.     33 

and  He  reminded  them  that  they  are  one  body 
called  to  do  one  thing — to  salt  this  earth,  nay, 
to  be  themselves  in  their  unity  the  salt,  mak- 
ing human  life  pure  and  wholesome  through 
the  permeation  of  it  by  the  divine  life  which 
He  would  infuse  into  them.  And,  again.  He 
said,  "Ye  are"  (not  merely  lights  to,  but  in 
their  unity)  ''  the  light  of  the  world.  A  city 
set  on  a  hill "  (and  such  a  city,  a  civitas  Dei, 
they  are)  "  cannot  be  hid.  Let  your  light  so 
shine  before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good 
works,  and  glorify  your  Father  Who  is  in 
heaven."  ^  For,  Christ  knew  man.  Man  needs 
more  than  a  philosophy  however  true.  He  is 
swayed  by  the  concrete,  not  the  abstract.  Plato 
idealised  a  republic.  His  idealisation  excites 
only  a  speculative  interest.  His  republic  is  in 
niibibus.  The  best  object-lesson  in  righteousness 
is  a  society  bound  to  the  pursuit  and  practice 
of  righteousness  by  its  very  constitution.  This 
is  the  character  of  the  society  which  He  organ- 
ised. Its  principle  of  cohesion  is  a  love  which 
reproduces  His  love  to  men.  Its  vital  force  is 
His  Spirit  dwelling  in  it  as  the  organism  which 
holds  Him  the  Head.  Its  purpose  is  to  fill  up 
what  is  lacking  of  His  sufferings,  to  articulate 
His  thought,  to  carry  out  His  will  to  save 
^  St  Mat.  V.  14,  16. 

c 


34      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  CJuirch. 

men's  lives,  to  be  the  evidence  and  the  mis- 
sionary of  His  kingdom  in  its  two  abiding 
features   of   Sonship    and    Brotherhood. 

The  Ecdesia,  the  Church,  is  not  a  mere  associ- 
ation of  persons  having  a  common  cult  and  re- 
solving to  diffuse  their  faith  and  worship.  It 
is  not  made  by  them,  and  it  is  not  dissoluble 
at  their  pleasure.  It  encompasses  them.  It 
adopts  them  into  it.  It  presents  them  with  a 
nurture  and  training  by  means  of  which  the 
conscience  is  educated  in  the  responsibihties  of 
the  Christian  profession.  It  is  an  election  out 
of  mankind,  and  those  who  are  in  it  are  an 
elect  race. 

The  term  "election"  is  a  stumbling-block  to 
many.  But  that  over  which  they  stumble  is  not 
so  much  the  thing  which  it  denotes  as  the  use 
which  is  made  of  it  in  theories  and  definitions. 
The  principle  of  limitations  which  it  implies  is 
one  that  is  apparent  in  every  department  of  nature, 
in  every  sphere  of  life,  in  the  history  of  the  past, 
in  the  facts  of  the  present.  It  is  comprehended 
in  the  plan  of  the  all-good  Orderer.  But  whoso  is 
wise  and  observant  of  the  whole  truth  may  under- 
stand His  loving-kindness.  The  elect  or  higher 
forms  of  plant-life  are  serviceable,  as  showing  the 
potentialities  of  the  species,  and  as  suggesting  ways 
by  which  vitality  may  be  more  fully  developed. 


The  Church  an  Election. 


JO 


The  elect  or  gifted  minds  are  '"lent  out''  for  the 
benefit  of  all ;  the  products  of  their  genius  or  of 
their  labour  are  the  enrichment  of  their  universe. 
Nations  have  their  distinctive  elections.  They 
are  limited.  They  have  their  special  aptitudes, 
testimonies,  characteristics,  by  which  they  are 
circumscribed,  but  through  which  they  contribute 
to  the  sum-total  of  the  forces  that  act  on  mankind. 
Now,  it  is  this  law  or  principle  which  we  recog- 
nise in  the  vocation  of  the  Church.  Holy  Scrip- 
ture has  enforced  it.  In  the  far-away  past,  it 
represents  the  family  of  Abraham  as  elected.  A 
secret  of  the  Lord  was  committed  to  this  family. 
Why?  In  order  that  the  secret  might  be  pre- 
served, and  that  it  might  have,  as  thus  preserved, 
an  ever-widening  area  of  influence.  "  Thou  shalt 
be  a  blessing :  .  .  .  and  in  thee  shall  all  families 
of  the  earth  be  blessed.'*^  The  family  increased 
and  became  a  people.  This  people,  Israel,  was 
elected.  It  was  separated  from  other  nations. 
It  was  distinguished  above  other  nations.  Unto 
it  were  committed  the  oracles  of  God.  Why  ? 
In  order  that  in  its  historv-  and  literature  it  might 
be  the  guardian  of  a  lofty  monotheism,  of  a  con- 
ception of  righteousness  which  was  the  germ  of 
truth  that  had  ''  waked  to  perish  never."  *'  The 
Law  and  the  Prophets/'  said  Athanasius,  ''were 

^  Gen.  xii.  2,  3. 


36      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church, 

a  sacred  school  of  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of 
spiritual  life  for  the  whole  world."  ^  The  Church 
marks  a  still  wider  circle  in  the  election  of  God. 
As  we  have  already  seen,  it  is  the  inheritor  of  the 
promises  announced  in  the  ages  before  the  day  of 
Christ.  But  it  holds  these  as  fulfilled  in  the  new 
covenant  which  has  been  ''  enacted  on  even  better 
promises."  ^  Why  is  it  thus  chosen  and  endowed  ? 
In  order  that  it  may  impart  the  knowledge  which 
is  life  eternal.  It  must  always  look  not  only  into 
but  beyond  itself.  Does  Christ  pray  for  the  men 
whom  the  Father  gave  Him  out  of  the  world  ? 
He  does  this  with  a  view  to  the  fulfilment  of  the 
mission,  "that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou 
didst  send  Me."  ^  Solemnly  He  reminds  these 
men  that  they  had  not  chosen  Him,  but  that  He 
had  chosen  them  and  appointed  them,  that  they 
should  "  go  and  bear  fruit."  ^  And  the  entire 
world  of  man  is  described  as  the  sphere  of  their 
movement.  The  experience  of  St  Paul,  formerly 
"  a  blasphemer  and  a  persecutor,  and  injurious," 
naturally  induced  him  to  give  a  more  individual- 
istic complexion  to  the  truth  of  election ;  but  he 
also  regards  the  Church  in  its  unity  as  the  "  ac- 
cepted in  the  Beloved,"^  and,  as  the  accepted, 

^  De  Incarnatione,  12.  '^  Heb.  viii.  6. 

^  St  John  xvii.  21.  "*  St  John  xv.  16. 

^  Eph.  iv.  6. 


The  Right  View  of  the  Election.        ^j 

the  demonstration  of  His  grace  to  principalities 
and  powers,  and  the  ordained  agent  of  His  grace 
in  its  world-wide  reference,  making  '*  all  men  see 
what  is  the  dispensation  of  the  mystery  which 
from  all  ages  has  been  hid  in  God."^  St  Peter 
speaks  of  the  Church  as  "an  elect  race";  elect, 
for  a  purpose  by  which  all  are  to  be  benefited, 
"  That  ye  should  show  forth  the  excellencies  of 
Him  who  called  you  out  of  darkness  into  His 
marvellous  light."  '^ 

The  mistake  in  the  harsher  modes  of  Calvinism 
is,  that  election  is  too  much  disjoined  from  this 
wider  reference,  and  from  the  supreme  obligation 
which  is  covered  by  it.  Election  is  so  defined 
as  practically  to  limit  the  love  of  God,  as  an 
active  force  "  bringing  salvation,"  to  those  who 
have  been  ordained  to  everlasting  life.  It  is  not 
regarded  as  a  means  to  an  end — the  blessing  of 
mankind.  Let  us  settle  it  that  election  does  not 
mean  that  some  are  exclusive  recipients  of  the 
divine  favour,  but  that  those  who  freely  receive, 
receive  in  order  that  they  may  freely  give. 
What  they  have  they  hold  for  the  good  of 
others.  When  a  will  bequeathing  an  estate  is 
made,  the  first  part  of  the  instrument  is  the 
nomination  of  trustees,  the  constitution  of  a 
trustee  body.    That  body  is  elected.    The  estate 

1  Eph.  iii.  9.  2  I  Peter  ii.  9. 


38      TJie  Social  Vocation  of  t lie  CJnirch. 

is  confided  to  it.  But  is  it  merely  for  the  benefit 
of  the  trustees  ?  Certainly  not,  but  in  order  that 
the  intentions  of  the  one  whose  will  is  declared 
may  be  realised.  The  visible  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  trustee  body  which  He  has  consti- 
tuted, not  to  monopolise  His  love  but  to  be  His 
executive  in  carrying  out  the  desire  of  His  love 
to  the  uttermost,  in  the  redemption  of  the  world. 

The  view  thus  presented  has  been  admirably 
stated  by  the  late  Professor  Bruce  :  "  Election  is 
but  the  method  by  which  Christ  uses  the  few  to 
bless  the  many.  Only  when  so  conceived  is  it 
Scriptural  or  wholesome.  When  it  is  thought  of 
as  involving  a  monopoly  of  divine  favour  and  re- 
probation of  all  without,  as  it  was  by  the  Jews  in 
our  Lord's  day,  then  the  salt  loses  its  savour,  and 
the  light  is  extinguished  by  being  placed  under  a 
bushel.  The  principle,  natural  law  in  the  spiritual 
world,  is  emphatically  false  here.  In  nature  the 
few  are  chosen  and  the  many  are  ruthlessly  cast 
away;  the  fit  survive  and  the  unfit  perish,  and 
the  unconscious  cosmos  sheds  no  tear.  In  the 
kingdom  of  God  it  is  far  otherwise.  The  chosen 
few  seek  the  good  of  the  many ;  the  fit  strive  to 
preserve  the  unfit.  This  is  their  very  vocation, 
and  when  they  cease  to  pursue  it  they  themselves 
become  unfit,  useless,  reprobate."  ^ 

^  The  Kingdom  of  God,  pp.  256,  257. 


Truths  in  zv/iich  the  Vocation  is  enforced.     39 

Here,  then,  is  the  vocation  of  the  Church  con- 
stituted and  ordained  by  Christ.  Referring  to 
this  ordination  in  His  intercessory  prayer  to  the 
Father,  He  says,  **  As  Thou  didst  send  Me  into 
the  world,  even  so  sent  I  them  into  the  world. 
And  for  their  sakes  I  sanctify  Myself,  that  they 
also  may  be  sanctified  in  truth."  ^  This  is  the 
consecration  of  His  Church  to  the  end  of  the 
times.  It  is  separated  to  Christ  Himself,  that 
it  may  be  the  body  through  which  He  acts  in 
His  revelation  to  men  of  the  possibilities  of 
their  life,  and  in  His  longing  to  heal  all  manner 
of  withering  sickness  and  crippling  disease  — 
working  ever  towards  the  sublime  moment  when 
God,  Who  is  light  and  love,  shall  be  all  in  all. 

Granting,  however,  that  the  vocation  of  the 
Church  to  purify  the  springs  and  to  elevate  the 
conditions  of  social  life  is  expressed  in  the 
teaching  of  Jesus,  and  in  its  constitution  and 
ordination  by  Him,  how  far,  it  may  be  asked,  is 
this  vocation  enforced  by  the  truths  which  all 
who  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians  accept 
as  pertaining  to  the  essence  of  their  profession  ? 
Societies  or  fraternities,  however  excellent  in  their 
aims,  are  almost  certain  to  lose  their  hold  when 
the  original  impulse  which  resulted  in  their  found- 

^  St  John  xvii.  i8,  19. 


40      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

ation  is  shorn  of  its  freshness,  unless  they  h  e 
the  permanent  support  of  definite  and  ever-potent 
principles  of  action.  Because  of  the  want  of  this 
support  famous  unions  had  their  day — often  a  brief 
one — and  ceased  to  be.  The  philosophical  fellow- 
ships of  antiquity  —  the  Garden,  the  Academy, 
the  Porch — gradually  dwindled  away.  Religious 
sanctions  have  an  enduring  efficacy :  they  may 
sustain  systems  for  centuries ;  but  these  systems 
become  embodiments  of  a  tradition  rather  than 
forces  of  life  when  they  lack  in  a  faith  which, 
from  the  centres  both  of  reason  and  feeling,  works 
by  love.  Has  the  Christian  Church  such  a  faith  ? 
Is  there  that  in  its  content  which  irresistibly,  un- 
restingly,  impels  to  the  service  of  humanity  ? 

The  reply  is,  that  in  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness there  is  an  apprehension  that  commands 
thought,  there  is  an  affection  that  commands  de- 
votion, there  is  an  assurance  that  commands  hope. 
These  are  the  dominating  influences  of  the  humani- 
tarianism  of  the  Church. 

One  of  its  central  verities  is  the  Incarnation. 
With  the  exposition  of  dogma  we  are  not  now 
concerned.  But  there  is  an  article  in  a  sym- 
bol that  Christendom  East  and  West  holds  in 
honour,  which,  as  bearing  on  our  subject,  we 
cannot  overlook—''  I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  the 
only-begotten  Son  of  the  Father,  .  .  .  Who  for 


The  Incarnation,  41 

us  men,  and  for  our  salvation,  became  man."^ 
More  than  this  need  not  be  said ;  when  we  say 
more  we  are  in  danger  of  losing  ourselves  in 
metaphysical  subtleties.  There  is  wisdom  as  well 
as  pathos  in  the  words  of  one  of  the  early  Fathers, 
"  We  are  compelled  to  attempt  what  is  unattain- 
able, to  climb  where  we  cannot  reach,  to  speak 
what  we  cannot  utter ;  instead  of  the  mere  adora- 
tion of  faith,  we  are  compelled  to  intrust  the 
deep  things  of  religion  to  the  perils  of  human 
expression."  ^ 

The  discussion  of  the  many  issues  that  con- 
nect with  the  Incarnation  is  beyond  the  limits 
prescribed  for  this  volume.  But  a  brief  glance 
at  two  or  three  lines  of  objection  will  tend  to 
place  the  issue  that  is  within  the  limits  more 
fully  before  the  mind. 

It  is  asserted  by  many,  as  a  reason  for  dis- 
missing all  consideration  of  it,  that  the  con- 
ception is  one  which  it  is  impossible  to  grasp. 
To  this  it  is  sufficient  to  reply,  in  the  language 
which  Herbert  Spencer  connects  with  the  idea 
of  the  Absolute,  ''  It  is  true  that  we  are  totally 
unable  to  conceive  any  such  higher  mode  of 
being.  But  this  is  not  a  reason  for  questioning 
its  existence ;   it  is  rather  the  reverse."  ^ 

^  Nicene  Creed.  ^  Hilary,  De  Trinitate,  2.  2,  4. 

First  Principles,  p.  209. 


42      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chrtrch. 

A  more  serious  difficulty  is  indicated  in  the 
argument  of  others,  that  the  idea  of  a  divine- 
human  Personahty  is  inconsistent  with  the  ac- 
knowledged principles  of  evolution.  But  may  it 
not  be  answered,  first,  that  the  utmost  which 
can  be  maintained  is,  that  such  a  Personality 
stands  outside  what  we  know  of  the  facts  of 
nature  ?  But  we  know  not  all.  Natural  science 
has  not  read  all  the  secrets  of  God  and  of  the 
universe  ;  and  there  are  other  data  on  which  to 
base  our  reasoning  than  those  of  natural  science. 
And,  further,  if,  even  having  regard  to  such 
evolutionary  processes  as  we  are  able  partially 
to  follow,  we  can  discern  variations  of  type  con- 
stituted by  the  selection  of  highly  organised  in- 
dividuals, making  new  developments  and  begin- 
ning new  species,  is  it  not  credible  that  the 
history  and  the  experience  of  man  should  be 
summed  up  in  One  akin  to  us,  but  higher  than 
us,  in  whom  the  Life  which  is  the  light  of  men 
should  be  as  fully  expressed  as  is  possible  under 
the  conditions  of  humanity?  All  that  is  true 
and  healthy  is  ever  struggling  upwards  to  com- 
pleter realisations ;  is  it  unnatural,  though  it 
may  take  us  to  the  supernatural,  that,  in  the 
fulness  of  the  time,  the  Perfect  man,  the  God- 
man,  should  appear,  so  uniting  the  effluence  to 
the  Source  of  life  that  He  could  say,  "I  am  in 


Non-Christian  Htmimiitarianism.       43 

the  Father  and  the  Father  in  Me "  ?  This  is 
the  Christian  apprehension  of  Christ,  very  God 
and  very  man,  and  our  point  is,  that  such  an 
apprehension,  when  reverent,  intelhgent,  and 
earnest,  has  in  it  a  call  to  social  endeavour 
which  is  supreme  over  the  soul  that  hears. 

So  far  this  contention  may  be  allowed.  But 
again  it  is  argued,  '*  An  idealisation  of  our 
earthly  life,  the  cultivation  of  a  high  concep- 
tion of  what  it  may  be  made,"  a  devotion  to 
humanity  in  which  the  faith  in  Christ  has  no 
place,  can  be  as  efficacious  as — nay,  more  effi- 
cacious for  all  that  concerns  material  wellbeing 
than — any  argument  drawn  from  the  idea  of  an 
Incarnation.^  Now,  it  is  not  denied  that  the 
motive  to  much  of  the  humanitarian  effort  of 
the  day  is  not  a  distinctively  Christian  motive. 
One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  society  is, 
that  many  men  and  women  realise  the  char- 
acteristic forces  of  religion,  find  a  rehgion  for 
themselves,  in  their  idealisations,  their  art,  their 
science,  their  work.  They  are  frequently  unself- 
ish. They  give  themselves  to  their  cause,  and 
sometimes  for  it.  They  have  faith,  enthusiasm, 
hope.  But  let  it  be  remembered  that  such 
persons  are  few,  that  they  are  unconsciously 
influenced  by  Christian  atmospheres  of  thought, 

1  3.  S.  Mill,  Essay  on  the  Utility  of  Religion. 


44      T^^i^  Social  Vocation  of  the  ChurcJi. 

and  that  even  they  are  in  danger  of  having 
the  range  of  their  sympathies  contracted  by 
the  speciahties  which  engross  them.  The  parts 
of  their  nature  that  are  outwith  the  devotion 
— possibly  the  higher  and  more  spiritual  parts 
of  the  complex  human  being  —  are  not  sum- 
moned into  activity.  A  scientific  or  an  artistic 
interest,  when  it  is  wholly  materialistic,  must 
lack  in  a  certain  purity  of  idealism,  a  certain 
warmth  and  richness  of  colouring.  Speaking 
generally,  it  may  be  reasserted  that  a  vital  be- 
lief in  the  truth  of  the  Incarnate  Lord  supplies 
a  reason  for  social  endeavour  which  is  both 
more  intense  and  more  quick  and  certain  in  its 
action  than  a  merely  vague  idealisation  of  the 
earthly  life  can  be.  There  are  some  words  of 
Pater,  in  which  he  contrasts  the  pagan  with 
the  Christian  charity,  that  express  a  truth  as 
between  non-Christian  and  Christian  service  of 
humanity.  "What  pagan  charity,"  he  writes, 
"  was  doing  tardily,  and  as  it  were  with  the 
painful  calculation  of  old  age,  the  Church  was 
doing  almost  without  thinking  about  it,  in  the 
plenary  masterfulness  of  youth,  because  it  was 
her  very  being  thus  to  do."^  The  spontaneity 
of  labour  signified  in  these  sentences  is  a  feature 
of  really  Christian  labour.    A  man  may,  with  no 

^  Marius  the  Epicurean,  vol.  ii.  p.  127. 


The  Light  in  ivhich  ive  see  Light.       45 

consciously  religious  motive,  be  zealous  for  the 
good  of  his  world :  one  who  really  believes  in 
Christ  must  be.  If  he  is  not,  he  is  no  true 
believer.  It  cannot  with  him  be  a  matter  of 
calculation  ;  w^hen  the  question  as  to  how  little 
or  how  much  will  suffice  becomes  prominent, 
he  is  parting  from  the  vision  of  his  Lord.  His 
doing  is  not,  or  should  not  be,  tardy  doing.  It 
is,  or  should  be,  prompt,  easy,  natural — the  evi- 
dence of  a  love  which  glows  with  the  sense  of 
the  great  love  of  God.  For,  the  Incarnation 
has  revealed  God,  has  penetrated  life  with  the 
consciousness  of  God.  It  has  consecrated  earth. 
It  has  given  a  new  grace  to  the  material  world, 
a  new  sanctity  to  man,  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit. 
It  has  shed  light  on  the  individual,  on  the  family, 
on  the  State.  The  religion  of  the  Incarnation  is 
the  religion  of  humanity. 

For,  undoubtedly,  in  its  representation  of 
Christ  as  the  Head  of  mankind,  this  religion 
has  given  a  special  form  and  force  to  the 
conception  of  the  solidarity  of  the  race.  It 
has  uplifted  the  sense  of  the  partnership  of 
each  individual  in  the  good  common  to  the 
race,  and  has  quickened  proportionally  the  feel- 
ing of  obligation  to  further  that  good.  And 
in  doing  so  it  has  emphasised  the  unspeakable 
value  of  the  life  and  the  world  of  man.     This, 


46      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chtirch. 

indeed,  is  the  substance  of  the  last  of  the 
objections  to  the  Christian  truth  of  the  Incar- 
nation to  which  allusion  is  now  made.  It  is 
maintained  that  the  notion  of  an  intervention  by 
Almighty  God  on  behalf  of  man,  besides  being 
inconsistent  with  the  everlasting  continuities  and 
the  regularities  of  law,  proceeds  on  assumptions 
as  to  man's  place  and  the  importance  of  his 
habitation  which  science  has  swept  away.  These 
assumptions,  it  is  said,  belong  to  ages  when  the 
universe  in  which  men  dwell  was  supposed  to 
be  the  centre  of  creation,  whereas  now  we  know 
that  it  is  only  one,  and  a  small  one,  in  the  im- 
mensity of  universes,  and  that  its  tenant  is 
not  the  final  cause  of  creation.  And  knowing 
this — to  imagine  that  the  Eternal  Supreme  could 
be  so  interested  in  their  concerns  as  to  give 
His  only  -  begotten  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of 
men,  is  described  as  nothing  better  than  the 
expression  of  human  vanity.  Now,  to  all  such 
reasoning  there  can  be  no  better  answer  than 
that  contained  in  the  parables  of  Christ,  which 
set  forth  the  will  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost.^  Let  it  suffice,  however,  to  rejoin 
that,  assuming  the  entrance  of  sin  into  the 
world,  it  is  not  at  variance  with  the  scientific 
view    of    the    unity    of    all    worlds    to    suppose 

^  St  Luke  XV. 


The  Valite  attached  to  Httmaii  Life.     47 

that  a  derangement  in   one  sphere    may  be  felt 
through    all    spheres  (as   the   effect   of  an   injury 
to   any   part    of    an    organism    is    communicated 
to  the  entire  organism),  that  all  worlds  may  be 
bound  together  by  a  subtle   and  pervasive  sym- 
pathy,  and   that,   in    the   interest   of  all    that    is 
created.   He  who  is  the   Father  and  Orderer  of 
all    may    have    undertaken    to    restore    the    pre- 
ordained harmony  by  reconciling  that  which  had 
gone  astray  with   this  harmony  and  with   Him- 
self.      But   the   objection   taken   only  proves   the 
assertion   that,   in   the  light   of  the   Incarnation, 
an    unspeakable    value    necessarily    attaches    to 
human  life.     What  can  a  man  give  in  exchange 
for  a  being  which    God,    through    a   stupendous 
gift,  has  redeemed  ?     *'  The  glory  of  God  is  the 
living   man ;    the   life    of  man   is    the    vision    of 
God."^      In   this  apprehension    of  the   essential 
and  inalienable  worth  of  life  there  is  the  word 
of    command:    "Go,    endeavour    to    make    the 
living  man   to  whom    you   minister  the  glory  of 
God,  to  recover  the  vision  of  God  in  the  lives 
that    have   lapsed.      In   even    the    depraved   and 
sunken  there  is  still  some  potentiality  of  good, 
something   of  the   divine.      Appeal   to   it.      Re- 
member  that    Christ    saw   it   w^hen    He    pierced 
*  all  down  the  drear  abyss  of  sin.'      Search  for 

^  Ireni^us,  quoted  in  Gore's  Bampton  Lecture,  p.  121. 


48      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

it.  Look  at  your  world  with  His  eyes.  Join 
yourselves  to  men  in  their  burdens  and  woes ; 
in  His  compassion  and  for  His  sake,  work  for  the 
redemption  of  His  kind  and  yours."  Irenaeus 
long  ago  interpreted  a  regulative  truth  of  the 
Church's  social  mission  when  he  wrote,  ''Christ 
was  made  what  we  are  that  He  might  enable 
us  to  be  what  He  Himself  is."  ^ 

The  influence  of  a  living  faith  in  the  Incarna- 
tion is  strengthened  by  a  twofold  appeal  which 
this  faith  makes. 

I.  It  appeals  to  personal  affection.  In  a  strik- 
ing passage  in  one  of  his  Epistles,  St  Paul  dwells 
on  the  Kevcoai^  of  Jesus,  which  he  thus  explains  : 
''  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  counted  it 
not  a  prize  to  be  on  an  equality  with  God,  but 
emptied  Himself,  taking  the  form  of  a  servant, 
being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men ;  and  being 
found  in  fashion  as  a  man.  He  humbled  Him- 
self, becoming  obedient  even  unto  death,  yea, 
the  death  of  the  cross."  ^  Christian  thought 
vainly  endeavours  to  give  shape  to  all  that  this 
self-emptying  implies.  But  this  every  one  can 
discern — it  refers  to  a  sacrifice  which  words  are 
inadequate  to  represent.  God  is  love.  Infinite 
love  is  the  capacity  of  infinite  sacrifice  ;  and  it 
is  in  Jesus  Christ  that  the   supreme  expression 

^  Quoted  in  'Lux  Mundi,'  p.  184.  -  Phil.  ii.  6-8. 


spiritual  Poiver  of  CIuHst's  Sacrifice.     49 

of  this  sacrifice  is  realised.  What  is  borne  in 
on  us,  as  we  follow  Him  from  the  mean  cradle 
to  the  bitter  cross,  is  that  the  Creator  whose 
being,  which  is  Love,  is  a  law  to  Himself,  owns, 
so  to  say,  His  responsibility  for  the  world ; 
and,  under  the  spell  of  this  revelation,  the  mind 
reasons,  ''  If  God  so  loved  us,  we  also  ought  to 
love  one  another."  ^  The  revelation  is  an  irresist- 
ible command  to  love  men,  as  Christ  loved  us. 

*'  Christ  has  taught,"  observes  Professor  Seeley, 
'*  not  merely  by  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but 
also  by  the  agony  and  the  crucifixion."^  The 
teaching  of  the  agony  and  the  crucifixion  is  the 
one  everlasting  illustration  of  the  ethic  of  Christ. 
But  it  is  more :  it  is  that  which  supplies  the 
dynamic  for  the  practical  carrying  out  of  the 
ethic.  What  we  need  is,  not  so  much  an  ex- 
position of  righteousness  as  a  power  in  the  soul 
itself,  persuading  and  enabling  to  be  righteous. 
We  may  see  the  vision  of  God,  as  Balaam  in 
the  Old  Testament  narrative  did,  "with  the 
eyes   open,"    and   yet,   as    in    his   case,   lack   the 

^   I  John  iv.   II. 

2  Ecce  Homo,  p.  no.  "Those  who  fix  their  eyes  on  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  or  rather  on  the  naked  propositions 
which  it  contains,  and  disregard  Christ's  life,  His  cross,  and  His 
resurrection,  commit  the  same  mistake  in  studying  Christianity 
that  the  student  of  Socratic  philosophy  would  commit  if  he 
studied  only  the  dramatic  story  of  his  [Socrates']  death." — P.  90. 

D 


50      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chtcrck. 

will-power  to  be  true  to  it — nay,  all  the  while 
we  may  be  hankering  after  "  the  wages  of  un- 
righteousness." An  internal  fire  which,  burning 
up  the  wood  and  hay  and  stubble  of  selfish- 
ness, effectually  "propels  generous  emanations," 
is  the  desideratum.  And  it  is  this  that  is  effected 
when,  by  the  illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
crucified  Christ  is  glorified.  Very  emphatic  is 
the  language  of  the  apostle,  yet  not  more  em- 
phatic than  the  experience  of  a  great  cloud  of 
witnesses  has  verified,  "  The  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  us  "  (hems  us  in,  shuts  us  up  to  the 
one  conclusion),  ''  because  we  thus  judge,  that 
one  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died ;  and  He 
died  for  all,  that  they  who  live  should  no  longer 
live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him  who  for 
their  sakes  died  and  rose  again."  ^  This  is  the 
Christian  ideal  of  the  motive  and  end  of  the 
service  of  humanity ;  and,  that  they  may  re- 
ceive an  ever-fresh  anointing,  those  who  "  thus 
judge  "  are  always  turning  to  the  place  called 
Calvary,  there  to  be  baptised  into  His  death 
and  to  be  consecrated  in  the  truth  of  His 
Church's  mission  to  the  world  over  which  He 
poured  the  blood  of  atonement. 

2.  Further,  the  faith  in  Christ,  incarnate,  cruci- 
fied, but  risen,  to  Whom  all  power  in  heaven  and 

^  2  Cor.   V.   14,   15. 


Faith  in  Christ  an  Assur^ance  of  Hope.     5 1 

in  earth  is  given,  contains  an  assurance  which 
is  the  perennial  nourishment  of  all  that  is 
strenuous  and  hopeful.  The  eye  of  the  Church 
does  not  droop  over  the  memory  of  a  dead 
hero,  or  of  a  martyr  who  speaks  only  through 
the  effect  of  His  martyrdom.  It  turns,  with  a 
gaze  always  bright  and  ardent,  to  a  living  Lord, 
Brother,  Friend.  The  confirmation  of  all  that 
hope  leaps  forward  to  claim  is  its  confidence 
that  He  is  the  true  King  and  Leader  of  men. 
Even  when  wrong  seems  to  triumph,  this  is 
the  pledge,  that  whatsover  is  right  eternally  is; 
that  the  wrong  is  only  as  the  black  cloud 
which,  drifting  athwart  the  firmament,  tempor- 
arily obscures  the  azure  beyond.  There  can  be 
no  pessimism  where  there  is  the  stout  heart  of 
the  preacher  in  East  London,  whom  Matthew 
Arnold  has  sketched  in  one  of  his  most  beau- 
tiful sonnets — 

"111  and  o'erworked,  how  fare  you  in  this  scene?' 
So  the  poet  asked,  and  the  answer  came — 

"  Bravely,  for  I  of  late  have  been  much  filled 
With  thoughts  of  Christ  the  living  Bread." 

The  mind  much  filled  with  these  thoughts  calls 
sin  sin,  and  sees  in  it  an  exceeding  sinfulness. 
It  beholds  with  tears  the  city  in  its  woes  and 
sorrows.      But    because  its    God   is  the    God    of 


52      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

hope,  because  its  Lord  is  the  Christ  Who  was 
and  is  and  is  to  come,  because  it  beheves  in  a 
kingdom  of  grace  which  is  active  in  the  midst 
of  social  confusions  and  upheavals,  and,  even  by 
means  of  them,  is  working  out  larger  and  fuller 
measures  of  good,  it  can  be  patient  in  tribula- 
tion, nay,  in  the  dark  and  cloudy  day  it  cannot 
be  otherwise  than  sanguine.  Men  protest  that 
the  harvest  will  not  come,  if  it  ever  comes  at 
all,  until  millenniums  have  passed.  The  Church, 
lifting  up  its  eyes  to  the  heaven  where  its  Lord 
is,  replies,  ''  Lo,  the  fields  are  white  already  to 
harvest,"  and  courageously  it  works  and  restfully 
it  waits. 


DJ 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  AGGRESSIVE   SOCIAL  ACTION  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Those  who  are  observant  of  the  movement  of 
great  social  forces  in  directions  which  they 
anxiously  scrutinise,  who  feel  the  pressure  of 
great  problems  the  solution  of  which  they  are 
unable  to  discover,  are  apt  to  take  an  ex- 
aggerated view  of  the  burdens  and  difficulties 
of  their  time.  Now,  for  the  encouragement  of 
faith,  it  is  good  to  cast  the  eye  backward  over 
the  centuries  during  which  the  Church  of  Christ 
has  been  fulfilling  the  vocation  of  her  Lord  and 
Head.  '' History,"  it  has  been  said,  "is  the 
chart  and  compass  of  national  endeavour."  ^ 
The  history  of  the  Church  is  the  chart  and 
compass  of  Christian  endeavour.  It  indicates 
the  paths  along  which,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Spirit  of  Truth,  it  has  travelled  and  is 
called   to   travel.      It  tells  us  of  the  rocks  and 

^  Friends  in  Council,  p.  227. 


54      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chttrch, 

reefs  to  be  avoided,  of  the  forces  which  have 
interrupted,  and  still  interrupt,  its  legitimate 
progress.  It  brings  us  into  relation  to  those 
master  spirits  of  the  ages  who,  by  their  inspir- 
ation and  service,  shaped  the  best  action  of 
their  day,  and  it  opens  up  to  us  the  secret  of 
the  strength  by  which  they  "subdued  king- 
doms and  wrought  righteousness."  It  proves 
to  us  that,  though  they  may  vary  in  form, 
the  struggles  we  must  face,  the  aims  we  must 
pursue,  are,  after  all,  the  perennial  struggles 
and  aims  of  the  higher  life  in  Christ,  in  its 
conflict  with  the  inferior  purposes  and  ambi- 
tions of  men.  And  thus,  by  all  the  testimony 
of  the  ages  gone,  we  are  encouraged  to  "take 
up  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  we  may  be 
able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having 
done  all,  to  stand."  ^ 

But,  for  two  reasons,  a  retrospect    of  ecclesi- 
astical history  may  repel  rather  than  attract. 

In  the  first  place,  the  features  most  prominent 
in  the  retrospect  are  far  from  inviting.  We 
might  expect  gardens  of  the  Lord,  watered 
everywhere,  beautiful  with  flowers,  fragrant 
with  spices,  and  enriched  with  trees  yielding 
all  manner  of  fruit,  whose  leaves  are  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations.  Instead  of  this,  we  are 
1  Eph.  vi.  13. 


Real  Interest  of  Ecclesiastical  History.     5  5 

introduced  to  a  succession  of  wide  tracts  swept 
bare  by  storms  of  passion,  of  arid  wastes  of 
controversy,  of  scenes  in  which  priestcraft  is 
beheld  borrowing  the  carnal  weapons  of  the 
most  despicable  statecraft,  and  creating  atmo- 
spheres of  wile,  intrigue,  and  oppression.  This 
is  true.  But  let  us  bring  the  eyes  of  Christian 
wisdom  and  love  to  our  study.  Neander  has 
rightly  observed  that  "our  understanding  of  the 
history  of  Christianity  will  depend  on  the  con- 
ception we  have  formed  in  our  own  minds  of 
Christianity  itself."  ^  If  we  have  formed  the  con- 
ception of  a  society  the  law  of  whose  develop- 
ment is,  that  the  authority  on  which  it  must 
depend  is  a  moral  authority,  that  the  truth 
with  which  it  is  charged  can  be  unfolded  only 
through  frictions,  through  the  cleavages  caused 
by  the  sword  which  Christ  announced  that  He 
had  come  to  send,  that  the  divine  treasure, 
moreover,  is  deposited  in  earthen  vessels,  in 
weak  and  imperfect  men ;  then,  we  shall  not 
only  cease  to  wonder  at  the  battles  whose  stains 
and,  traces  are  evident  in  every  generation,  but 
we  shall  feel  that  these  battles  are  full  of  pathos 
and  interest,  we  shall  see  in  them  the  resistances 
of  the  darkness  which  is  always  seeking  to  over- 
take  the   light,    and    the    often    slow,    but    ulti- 

^  Church  History,  Inlroduclion. 


56      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

mately  sure,  assertion  of  principles  which  modify 
the  permanent  conditions  of  hfe.  We  shall  be 
reminded,  too,  that  the  real  history  of  the 
Christian  society  is  not  that  which  is  prominent 
in  records.  Writing  of  England,  Ruskin  pro- 
tests, "  That  which  people  call  her  history  is 
not  hers  at  all,  but  of  her  kings  and  the  tax- 
gatherers  employed  by  them."^  In  a  similar 
strain,  we  can  affirm  that  the  story  told  in 
books  is  often  not  the  story  of  the  real  Church, 
but  that  of  emperors  and  popes,  of  factions  and 
councils.  The  story  is  to  be  looked  for  else- 
where. ''The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with 
observation."  ^  It  comes  and  it  is  advanced, 
through  spiritual  and  social  activities  which 
scarcely  appear,  through  all  that  enters  into 
the  making  of  Christian  soul  and  community ; 
through  transformations  of  character,  individual 
and  national,  effected  by  the  diffusion  of  those 
educative,  disciplinary,  and  ameliorative  influ- 
ences which  tone  and  determine  the  civilisation 
of  the  world. 

In  the  next  place,  the  vastness  of  the  under- 
taking may  indispose  us  to  any  attempt  to  review 
the  bygone  centuries.  The  utter  impossibility 
of  even  summarising  social  expansions  which 
spread  over  such  lengthened  periods  is  at  once 

^  Fors  Clavigera,  vol.  i,  p.  48.  2  gt  Luke  xvii.  20. 


Epochs  of  Ecclesiastical  History  selected,     5  7 

recognised.  And,  in  order  that  the  supposed 
objection  may  be  disarmed,  the  aim  of  this 
chapter  shall  be  merely  to  illustrate,  by  rapid 
sketches,  the  unfolding  of  the  Church's  voca- 
tion, and  its  aggressive  action  on  human  society. 
Two  epochs,  for  the  sake  of  such  illustration, 
are  selected — the  one,  that  which  extends  from 
the  beginning  of  the  organised  Christian  com- 
munity to  the  peace  of  the  Church,  when  Con- 
stantine  yielded  himself  and  his  empire  to  the 
vision  of  the  cross ;  and  the  other,  that  which, 
including  the  latter  half  of  the  middle  ages, 
leads  on  to  the  Reformation  of  Western 
Christendom  in  the  sixteenth  century.  These 
epochs  are  vast,  but  the  survey,  such  as  it  is, 
will  speak  to  us  of  the  growth  of  that  tiny 
seedling  which,  sown  on  the  soil  of  Palestine, 
put  out  great  branches,  so  that  the  birds  of 
the  heaven — the  winged  thoughts  and  aspira- 
tions of  humanity — came  and  lodged  under  its 
shadow. 

The  day  of  Pentecost  marks  the  beginning  of 
the  organised  Christian  brotherhood.  On  that 
day  3000  souls  were  added  to  the  original  band  of 
disciples  numbering  120,  and  the  household  of 
faith  was  formed.  The  converts,  we  are  told, 
*'  continued   stedfastly  in   the   apostles'  teaching 


58      TJie  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church, 

and  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  bread  and  the 
prayers."  ^  In  the  glow  of  the  love  which  knit 
all  together,  that  which  was  individual  to  each 
member  of  the  community  was  merged  in  the 
new  corporate  life.  It  required  no  ordinance  to 
establish  a  scheme  of  reciprocal  benefit  and  ser- 
vice. This  was,  almost  unconsciously,  the  result 
of  the  union.  No  more  beautiful  picture  of  a 
community  was  ever  drawn  than  that  which  is 
drawn  in  the  simple  words  of  the  chronicler: 
"All  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all 
things  common  ;  and  they  sold  their  possessions 
and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all,  according  as 
any  man  had  need.  And,  day  by  day,  continuing 
stedfastly  with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and 
breaking  bread  at  home,  they  did  take  their  food 
with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  praising 
God,  and  having  favour  with  all  the  people."  ^ 
It  was  the  sign  of  the  heaven  which  lay  around 
the  infancy  of  the  Church.  A  vision,  alas!  too 
soon  to  fade,  yet  one  in  which  Christianity  may 
recognise  a  truth,  not  to  be  reproduced  in  the 
letter,  but  in  its  spirit,  to  "perish  never." 

Thus,  in  the  feeling  of  its  relation  to  the  risen 
and  exalted  Christ,  and  by  the  guidance  of  the 
Spirit  Whom  he  had  promised,  the  Church 
developed    a    characteristic    social    collectivism. 

^  Acts  ii.  42.  -  Acts  ii.  44-46, 


The  Social  Developjueitt  of  the  Chitrch.     59 

Some  of  the  first  things  recorded  concerning  the 
Church  had  a  distinctly  social  aspect.  The  first 
sin  against  its  holiness  was  that  in  which  two  of 
those  who  had  been  added  to  it  lied  to  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  regard  to  the  surrender  of  their  pro- 
perty.^ The  first  discordant  note  in  its  music 
was  a  "murmuring"  of  certain  Hellenists,  ''be- 
cause their  widows  were  neglected  in  the  daily 
ministration."  ^  And  the  first  action  of  the  laity 
was  the  selection,  in  accordance  with  the  counsel 
of  the  apostles,  of  "  seven  men  of  good  report  from 
among  them,  full  of  the  Spirit  and  of  wisdom,"  ^ 
whom  the  apostles  might  appoint  to  the  ministry 
of  "the  tables."  A  type  of  society  had  been 
originated  which,  claiming  to  be  divine  in  its 
source  and  authority,  "the  fulness  of  Him  who 
filleth  all  in  all," — "a  tower,"  as  Hermas,  the 
Bunyan  of  the  early  time,  called  it,  "  founded  on 
the  word  of  the  almighty  and  glorious  Name, 
and  kept  together  by  the  invisible  power  of  the 
Lord,"* — ^joined  all  its  constituents  in  the  most 
intimate  of  social  unities,  in  practical  sym- 
pathies, whose  impelling  motive  was,  "  the  grace 
of  their  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  that,  though  He 
was  rich,  yet  for  their  sakes  He  became  poor."  ^ 

1  Acts  v.  I- 1 1.  -  Acts  vi.  I.  -^  Acts  vi.  2,  3. 

^  The  Pastor  of  Hermas,  Vision  ii.  chap.  3. 
^  2  Cor.  viii.  9. 


6o      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

''This  second  spring-tide  of  the  world,"  writes 
Dean  Church,  "this  fresh  start  of  mankind  in  the 
career  of  their  eventful  destiny,  was  the  beginning 
of  many  things,  but  what  I  observe  now  is  that 
it  was  the  beginning  of  new  chances,  new  im- 
pulses, and  new  guarantees  for  civilised  life,  in 
the  truest  and  worthiest  sense  of  the  words."  ^ 
An  organism  which  gave  a  "  fresh  start "  in  the 
world's  history  could  not  but  be  largely  influenced 
by  its  environment.  In  order  that  it  might  push 
its  own  vitality  outwards,  it  needed  to  receive 
from  the  surrounding  soil :  it  could  be  robust, 
adaptive,  human  whilst  spiritual,  only  by  corre- 
spondence with  elements  which  were  akin  to  it, 
and  by  opposition  to  features  which  were  alien  to 
it,  in  the  times  on  which  it  acted.  Now,  the 
environment  with  which,  more  and  more,  it 
realised  a  contact  was  the  widespread  Roman 
Empire.  Its  gradual  disengagement  from  the 
Judaism  under  whose  shadow  it  moved  in  its 
earliest  morn  is  traced  in  the  Book  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles.  And  the  liberation,  towards 
which  much  had  led,  was  completed  through  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans  under 
Titus.  The  city  where  the  Lord  was  crucified, 
and  whence  the  faith  in  Him  had  gone  forth  on 
the  mission  for  which  He  had  destined  it,  became 

^  The  Gifts  of  Civilisation. 


More  Catholic  Movement  of  the  Church.     6 1 

a  sacred  memory,  a  holy  place;  but  Christianity 
was  thenceforth  identified,  not  with  Palestine, 
but  with  the  world  which  acknowledged  the  sway 
of  the  imperial  eagle. 

The  pioneer  of  its  more  catholic  spirit  and 
movement  was  the  apostle  Paul.  To  him,  more 
than  to  any  other  of  the  apostles,  was  due  the 
development  of  the  Church  in  the  first  stadium  of 
its  course.  The  special  theatre  of  his  action  was 
Asia  Minor.  He  passed,  at  intervals,  into  Europe; 
but  in  this  province  the  most  striking  imprints  of 
his  genius  were  made.  He  organised  Christian 
communities  in  the  larger  centres  of  population. 
Each  community,  each  church,  had  a  certain  local 
independence ;  but  the  feeling  of  relation  to  the 
larger  unity  was  enforced  in  a  practical  manner. 
There  were  collections  for  poor  saints  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  he  reckoned  it  a  privilege  to  be  the  bearer 
of  these  collections.  Deputations  were,  again 
and  again,  sent  from  church  to  church.  The 
Epistles  that  St  Paul  addressed  to  one  church,  he 
asked  should  be  forwarded  to,  and  read  in,  other 
churches.  The  same  social  features — the  brother- 
hood in  Christ,  the  care  of  the  weak,  the  poor, 
the  widow,  the  orphan — were  presented  in  every 
congregation.  In  his  charge  to  the  presbyters 
of  Ephesus,  there  is  an  interesting  reference  to 
a   saving    of   Jesus,    not   found   in   the    Gospels, 


62      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

which  illustrates  one  of  the  main  points  of  the 
apostle's  teaching,  "  I  gave  you  an  example, 
how  that  so  labouring  ye  ought  to  help  the 
weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  how  He  Himself  said.  It  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive."^ 

Thus  teaching,  and  diffusing  a  purer  and  loftier 
social  spirit,  St  Paul  made  his  memorable  mis- 
sionary circuits.  The  more  the  idea  of  the 
Church  as  a  debtor  for  the  Gospel  of  Christ  to 
the  whole  world  dominated  his  perception,  the 
more  did  Rome  and  all  the  culture  with  which 
it  was  identified  lay  a  spell  on  him.  Greece, 
though  subject  to  Rome,  had,  by  means  of  its 
language  and  its  literature,  conquered  Rome. 
And  we  see  a  noble  blending  of  Greek  thought 
with  Roman  imperialism  in  his  conception  of 
the  social  life  of  the  Church,  as  that  is  pre- 
sented in  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.^ 
Of  this  conception  Dean  Stanley  has  said  :  "  It 
is  not  Asiatic  but  European.  It  was  Greece, 
not  India,  which  first  presented  the  sight  of  a 
7roXt9  or  State  in  which  every  citizen  had  his 
own  pohtical  and  social  duties,  and  Hved  not 
for  himself  but  for  the  State.  It  was  a  Roman 
fable,  and  not  an  Eastern  parable,  which  gave 
to   the   world   the   image   of  a    body   politic,    in 

1  Acts  XX.  35.  -  I  Cor.  xii. 


The  Ideal  and  the  Aim  of  St  Paul.     6 


which  the  welfare  of  each  member  depended  on 
the  welfare  of  the  rest.  And  it  is  precisely 
this  thought  which,  whether  in  conscious  or 
unconscious  imitation,  was  suggested  by  the 
sight  of  the  manifold  and  various  gifts  of  the 
Christian  community.  His  picture  is  the  Christ- 
ianisation  not  of  the  Levitical  Hierarchy  but  of 
the  Republic  of  Plato."  ^  We  can  so  far  homolo- 
gate this  statement,  for  there  are  approximations 
in  the  ideal  of  the  Christian  apostle  to  that  of 
the  Greek  philosopher,  whilst  at  the  same  time 
it  is  suggestive  of  the  Roman  genius  for  govern- 
ment ;  but  the  apostle  strikes  a  note  which  was 
not  borne  to  him  from  either  the  ^Egean  Sea 
or  the  Tiber, — the  note  sounded  in  his  wonder- 
ful poem  on  love,^  and  prolonged  in  the  expres- 
sion of  his  aim,  "  to  make  human  society  one 
living  body  closely  joined  in  communion  with 
Christ."  With  this  aim  becoming  always  more 
distinct,  the  march  led  by  him  was  towards, 
was  into,  that  world,  covering  *'  an  area  three 
thousand  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west, 
and  two  thousand  in  breadth  from  north  to 
south,"  which  owned  the  sway  of  Rome. 

The  mighty  and  the  wise  little  thought  that  he 
and  the  humble  men  who  had  caught  ''  from  his 

^  St  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  vol.  i.  pp.  270,  271. 
^  I  Cor.  xiii. 


64      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

joyaunce  a  surprise  of  joy"  were  the  bearers  of 
a  seed -basket,  from  whose  contents,  as  they 
sowed  "  beside  all  waters,"  w^as  to  spring  a  new 
harvest  for  the  earth.  They  little  thought  "  of 
what  w^as  in  store  for  civil  and  secular  society 
as  they  beheld  them  plying  their  novel  trade 
of  preachers  and  missionaries."^  At  first  they 
scarcely  noticed  the  new  teaching ;  if  they 
noticed  it  at  all,  it  seemed  only  a  phase  of 
Jewish  fanaticism.  But  gradually,  and  not 
slowly,  considering  the  obscurity  in  which  it 
moved,  it  forced  itself  on  notice.  Its  promul- 
gation, and  the  hold  it  took  on  persons  of  all 
sorts  and  conditions,  are  among  the  problems  of 
history. 

It  is  a  problem  not  now  to  be  discussed.  The 
causes,  as  from  a  merely  human  view-point,  of 
the  progress  of  Christianity  in  the  early  cen- 
turies, are  related  to  climates  of  religious  feel- 
ing or  want  of  feeling,  tendencies  of  thought, 
conditions  of  society,  and  other  matters,  whose 
consideration  would  take  us  too  far  afield.  One 
point  only  may  be  noticed.  Assuming  that, 
beyond  all  secondary  causes,  the  cause  was  the 
divine  power  which  accompanied  the  Gospel, 
and  appropriated  the  Church  of  Christ,  there 
were  facilities  for  the  prosecution  of  the  mission 

^  Gifts  of  Civilisation. 


Circumstances  favouring  the  Church.     65 

of  the  Gospel  and  the  Church  specially  pro- 
vided by  the  Empire  and  its  circumstances.  It 
was  an  all  but  universal  Empire.  It  had  realised 
a  solidarity  of  government  and  of  interests  which 
favoured  the  conception  of  a  universal  Church, 
of  a  new  solidarity  of  mankind.  The  time  of  its 
advance,  moreover,  was,  as  Professor  Ramsay 
has  indicated,  a  time  of  transition  from  the 
narrower  conception  of  the  Republic,  accord- 
ing to  which  Rome  was  the  mistress  of  subject 
nations,  to  the  wider  conception  of  the  Empire, 
according  to  which  nations  were  the  constituents 
of  a  great  confederation  whose  head  was  Rome.^ 
And  this  wider  view  touched  an  answering  chord 
in  the  Church:  it  nourished  the  presentiment  of  a 
spiritual-social  vastness.  Finally,  the  machinery 
of  government ;  the  universality  of  two  languages, 
especially  the  Greek ;  the  energies  of  commerce ; 
the  marches  of  armies  and  the  voyages  of  fleets, 
making  pathways  by  land  and  sea, — all  contrib- 
uted to  the  diffusion  of  Christian  influence.  In 
the  words  of  Isaac  Taylor,  "The  Gospel  took 
to  itself  the  wings  of  every  energy  which  then 
carried  men  to  and  fro  between  the  three  con- 
tinents. It  used  the  roads  and  the  ships  of  the 
Empire;  it  went  in  the  track  of  caravans.  It 
flowed,  as  one  might  say,  through  the  arteries  of 

1  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  p.  lo. 
E 


66      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

the  Greek  language,  philosophy,  and  literature ;  it 
went  wherever  books  had  gone  before  it ;  culture 
was  a  preparation  of  the  soil  for  its  reception. 
Forests  and  wilds  it  did  penetrate  by  adventurous 
and  precarious  missions ;  but,  along  with  the  re- 
finements of  a  high  civilisation,  it  dw^elt  at 
home."i 

So  it  was  that,  when  the  second  century  was 
running  its  course,  the  Roman  magistrate  awoke 
to  the  discovery  that  another  empire,  in  the  world 
but  not  of  it,  was,  with  weapons  he  could  not 
understand,  challenging  the  might  of  the  Caesars. 

Why  was  the  Church  singled  out  for  persecu- 
tion ?  The  policy  of  Rome  was  tolerant.  Why 
was  its  faith  branded  as  a  superstitio  prava  and 
condemned  as  a  religio  illicita  ?  There  is  a  well- 
known  testimony  as  to  the  character  and  aims 
of  the  Christian  society  which  takes  back  to  the 
year  a.d.  120.  Pliny,  the  governor  of  Bithynia, 
sent  a  report  to  the  Emperor  Trajan,  that  not 
only  bears  an  impartial  witness  to  the  growth  of 
Christianity  in  his  province,  but  also  supplies  a 
most  interesting  glimpse  into  the  social  life  of  the 
Christian  community.^  His  is  a  testimony  very 
different  from  that  of  the  historian  Tacitus,  who 
represents  Christians  as  only  hateful  for  their 
crimes  and  deserving  punishment  of  hitherto  un- 

^  Restoration  of  Belief,  p.  5.  ^  Letters  to  Trajan,  96,  97. 


Reason  of  Persecutions  of  the  Church.     6y 

exampled  severity.  But  why  does  the  mild  and 
sagacious  Trajan  —  with  the  information  of  his 
proconsul  Pliny  before  him,  to  the  effect  that 
all  he  could  find,  after  investigation,  was  that 
Christians  were  wont  to  meet  together  and  sing 
hymns  of  praise  to  Christ,  and  covenant  to  be 
chaste  and  honest — yet  sanction  the  infliction  of 
punishment  on  these  unoffending  people,  when 
they  were  apprehended  and  would  not  recant  ? 

The  answer  is  that,  with  an  instinct  which  was 
quite  correct,  Roman  statesmen  discerned  in  the 
spread  of  Christianity  a  menace  to  the  existing 
structure  of  society.  Other  religions  were  con- 
tent to  move  in  their  own  orbit :  they  might 
nurse  fanaticisms,  but  any  outbreak  which  dis- 
turbed the  peace  could  be  repressed,  and  they 
had  no  particularly  aggressive  character.  But 
the  Christian  religion  was  inevitably  aggressive. 
It  did  not,  indeed,  interfere  with  political  rela- 
tions. It  inculcated  the  payment  of  "tribute 
to  whom  tribute  was  due."  It  had  no  quarrel 
with  the  Empire ;  nevertheless,  the  Empire  was 
bound  to  quarrel  with  it.  It  was  not  only  that 
the  crafts  which  depended  on  sacrificial  rites 
and  temple  worship  were  imperilled ;  it  was  not 
only  that  the  ceremonice  RomancB—Yjhioh,  though 
little  of  a  living  faith  attached  to  them,  struck 
their   roots   far   down    into   national    and    social 


68      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

life — were  more  and  more  neglected  ;  it  was  not 
only  that  Christians  stood  aloof  from  the  bloody 
shows  and  cruel  sports  which  were  necessary  for 
the  diversion  of  the  public  mind,  more  par- 
ticularly of  the  masses,  from  degradations  that 
were  eating  into  the  core  of  the  body  politic ; 
the  danger  of  dangers  was  that,  in  this  growing 
belief,  there  was  an  ethical  and  moral  standard 
which  collided  with  the  standards  of  Roman 
citizenship.  The  benevolent  aspects  of  the 
Christian  fraternity  might  have  been  passed 
over,  as  denoting  a  harmless  enthusiasm  ;  but 
the  obligations  of  the  faith  in  its  Sacred  Per- 
son which  it  professed  were  another  matter. 
They  imposed  on  its  members  an  authority 
supreme  over  that  of  the  Caesar ;  they  asserted 
the  inviolable  sacredness  of  conscience — not  as 
measured  by  the  conventions  of  the  State,  but 
as  measured  by  the  royal  law  of  the  Christ  Who 
was  worshipped.  As  between  the  State  and 
this  Christ,  there  was  for  Christians  no  choice. 
It  was  this  moral  sense  that  uplifted  the  in- 
dividual man;  and,  in  the  uplifting  of  the  in- 
dividual man,  the  knell  of  the  slavery  which  was 
regarded  as  essential  to  society  was  sounded. 
And  thus,  to  those  who  looked  on  the  Religion 
simply  from  the  Roman  standpoint,  simply  with 
reference  to  the  interests  of  the  State,  and  the 


Paganism  and  Christianity.  69 

cohesion  of  society  on  the  Roman  basis,  the 
toleration  of  it  was  impossible.  As  early  as  the 
year  64,  Nero,  the  miserable  buffoon  who  wore 
the  purple  of  the  Caesars,  varied  the  accusation 
of  incendiarism  by  that  of  an  odium  humani 
generis.^  He  endeavoured  to  stir  the  popular 
feehng  against  Christians  by  representing  them 
as  hostile  to  civilised  life.  And  between  the 
civilised  life,  as  then  organised,  and  the  Christ- 
ian life,  there  was  a  necessary  and  a  radical 
hostility.  In  the  measure  of  the  Church's  ex- 
pansion that  hostility  was  declared.^  It  was 
precipitated  and  developed  by  persecution.  A 
new  religious  symbol  of  imperial  unity  had  been 
invented;  that  symbol  was  the  worship  of  the 
emperor.  When  the  Christian  was  commanded 
to  do  homage  to  the  deified  Caesar  he  refused, 
and,  on  account  of  his  refusal,  he  was  thrown 
to  the  lions  or  burned  at  the  stake.  Emperors 
learned  what  others  than  they  have  been  taught 
—even   the    Church    itself  in   later   and    corrupt 

^  "To  the  Romdin g-enus  humamim  meant  not  mankind  in  general, 
but  the  Roman  world,  men  who  lived  according  to  Roman  manners 
and  laws — the  rest  were  enemies  and  barbarians." — The  Church  in 
the  Roman  Empire,  p.  236. 

2  The  attitude  of  the  humane  Aurelius  is  the  most  distinct  of 
testimonies  to  the  exact  nature  of  the  case.  His  persecution  of 
Christians  was  contrary  to  the  inclination  of  his  mind  :  it  was 
directed  entirely  by  the  political  motives  of  a  Roman  statesman. 


"JO      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

times  —  that    in   the    blood    or  in    the    ashes   of 
martyrs  there  is  seed. 

But  now  let  us  overlook  all  the  fierce  fight  of 
affliction  through  which  the  Church  was  called 
to  pass.  Let  us  place  ourselves  at  the  beginning 
of  the  fourth  Christian  century,  at  the  year  317, 
when  the  Edict  of  Constantine  proclaimed  the 
age  of  persecution  past,  and  the  reign  of  peace 
between  Church  and  State  begun.  What  then 
was  the  position  of  the  Church  ?  and  what  had 
it  done  for  human  society  ? 

It  had  covered  the  entire  area  of  the  Roman 
Empire  and  penetrated  beyond  it.^  In  every  city 
it  had  congregations,  in  some  it  had  even  a 
majority  of  the  citizens.  From  the  cities  it 
had  spread  into  the  adjacent  country,  planting 
churches  everywhere.  It  had  carried  its  message 
to  Gaul,  to  Britain,  to  Spain,  to  the  forests  of 
Swabia  and  Germany.  It  had  made  Asia  Minor 
largely  its  own.  Egypt,  proconsular  Africa,  Nu- 
midia,  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  Armenia,  had  Christ- 
ian communities.  It  had  crossed  the  Euphrates. 
It  had  travelled  to  Parthia,  Persia,  Arabia,  India, 
and  as  far  as  China.  Its  line  had  gone  through 
the  earth.  Barbarians — the  barbarous  tribes  on 
the  frontier  of  the  Empire— had  been  taught  to 

^  The  social  influence  of  the  Church  is  traced  in  the  present 
writer's  'Expansion  of  the  Christian  Life,'  pp.  31-66. 


Social  Service  and  Influence  of  CJmrch.     7 1 

bow  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Where  man  was, 
the  Church  had  felt  itself  bound  to  be.  It  had 
taught  slaves,  but  it  had  gained  the  free  and  high- 
born also.^  Its  philosophers  and  apologists  were 
second  to  none  for  learning  and  force.  It  was  a 
vast  and  world-wide  power.  The  number  of  its 
professed  adherents  is  not  the  criterion  of  its 
influence.  Perhaps,  not  a  twentieth,  not  more 
than  a  tenth  certainly,  of  the  population  of  the 
Empire  was  Christian,  when  Constantine  saw 
and  accepted  the  cross.  But  the  proportion  of 
Christians,  whatever  it  was,  represented  the 
moral  earnestness,  the  vital  and  progressive  force, 
of  the  Empire.  And  the  social  life  which  sur- 
rounded it  had  in  many  respects  been  struck,  as 
with  a  wedge  driven  near  to  its  base. 

In  all  parts  of  the  world,  substantially  the  same 
type  of  social  life  was  reproduced.  In  respect  of 
polity,  there  were  the  bishops  or  overseers,  the 
officers  of  various  kinds,  the  administrations  and 
administrators  of  the  brotherhood.  In  respect  of 
aims,  it  might  be  an  exaggeration  to  affirm  that 
the  idea  of  a  community  held  bound  in  its  solidar- 
ity for  all  its  constituents,  especially  for  the  sick 

1  ' '  The  Christian  reHgion  spread  at  first  among  the  educated 
more  rapidly  than  among  the  uneducated,  and  nowhere  had  it  a 
stronger  hold  (as  Mommsen  observes)  than  in  the  household  and  at 
the  court  of  the  Emperor." — The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
p.  56. 


72      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chirch. 

and  the  poor,  was  a  distinctively  Christian  idea; 
for  anticipations  of  it  are  to  be  found  in  Greek 
writers,  and  the  alimentations  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire grew  to  be  a  burden  too  heavy  for  the  im- 
perial exchequer.  But  there  were  features  that 
dissociated  the  Church  from  all  such  alimenta- 
tions. The  policy  that  promoted  them  had 
respect  to  the  maintenance  of  order  and  the 
suppression  of  revolution.  It  meant  the  demor- 
alisation of  the  people.  In  the  Church  there 
was  found  a  unity  inspired  by  an  utterly  different 
spirit  and  motive.  It  interpreted  a  covenant  of 
sympathy.  The  sanctuaries  of  Christians  had 
orphanages  or  institutions  of  healing  attached 
to  them.  We  read  of  provision  for  widows,  and 
children  bereft  of  parents,  of  hospices,  of  hos- 
pitals for  lepers,  of  benevolences  of  many  kinds, 
of  practical  philanthropies  which  moderated  the 
excitements  of  controversy,  and  were,  to  all 
without,  a  sign  of  brotherly  love.  And,  in  our 
contemplation  of  the  earlier  Church,  we  must 
not  overlook  the  ethical  and  spiritual  ideal 
which  it  ever  kept  in  view.  If  Christians  were 
held  bound  to  love  one  another,  it  was  for  the 
sake  of  Him  who  had  given  them  His  cross  to 
bear  and  had  called  them  to  be  holy  even  as  He 
is  holy. 

This  society,  mirroring,   amidst   all  its  imper- 


A  New  Ethic.  J2> 

fections,  a  lofty  ideal  of  purified  humanity, 
reached  many  sides  of  the  surrounding  life. 
Even  the  heathenism  which  opposed  it  was 
influenced  by  it.^  It  tended  to  form  atmo- 
spheres of  thought  and  feeling  in  which  the  in- 
humaneness  and  ghastliness  of  some  of  the 
features  of  this  heathenism  were  evidenced.  A 
public  opinion  condemnatory  of  infanticide,  of 
exposure  of  children,  of  the  cruelties  of  many 
kinds  with  which  the  records  of  the  centuries 
are  filled,  had  been  formed  and  was  rapidly 
spreading.  Bloody  spectacles,  gladiatorial  ex- 
hibitions, the  brutal  sports  offered  to  prince 
and  slave,  were  discountenanced  by  the  diffu- 
sion of  u.  gentler  type  of  manners.  A  higher 
value  was  being  put  on  human  life,  and  a  new 
ethic  was  silently  salting  the  earth. 

1  '*One  of  the  most  interesting  facts  in  the  history  of  religion 
under  the  Empire  is  the  influence  which  was  exerted  by  the  new 
religion  on  the  old,  and  the  progress  of  discovery  is  gathering  a  store 
of  information  on  this  point  which  will  at  some  future  time  make  a 
remarkable  picture."— The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  p.  144. 


74 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE   AGGRESSIVE    SOCIAL   ACTION    OF   THE 

CHURCH — continued. 

A  NEW  era  dawned  on  both  the  Church  and 
the  Empire,  bringing  with  it  new  social  condi- 
tions, w^hen  the  Roman  Caesar,  the  founder  of 
Constantinople,  recognised  Christianity  as  the 
religion  of  the  State.  We  have  no  occasion  to 
discuss  the  character,  and  the  policy,  imperial 
and  ecclesiastical,  of  Constantine.  The  story  of 
the  six  centuries  which  followed  the  peace  that 
he  proclaimed  is  eventful  and  troubled.  But  it 
is  outwith  the  limits  of  our  review  to  do  more 
than  glance  at  these  periods  of  storm  and  stress, 
of  dissolution  and  reconstruction.  The  object 
aimed  at  in  this  chapter  is  merely  an  illustration 
of  the  aggressive  action  of  the  Church  on  the 
social  life  of  humanity.  And  we  revert  to  the 
times  between  the  fourth  and  the  tenth  century 
on  whose  threshold  we  take  our  stand,  only  in  so 


Beginning  of  Tenth  Christian  Century.      75 

far  as  they  shed  hght  on  the  Christian  civiHsation 
which  from  this  vantage-ground  we  survey,  trac- 
ing thence  some  features  of  the  bent  given  to 
pubHc  sentiment  and  hfe,  prior  to  that  mighty 
moral  upheaval  which  has  made  the  sixteenth 
century  one  of  the  outstanding  epochs  in  the 
world's  history. 


I. 

What  was  the  religious  and  social  position  of 
the  world  and  the  Church  at  the  beginning  of 
the  tenth  century  ?  To  understand  this,  we 
must  glance  at  the  periods  anterior  to  it,  especi- 
ally at  those  usually  designated  "The  Dark 
Ages." 

From  the  day  of  Constantine's  peace,  with  the 
exception  of  a  brief  period,  the  Roman  Empire 
was  a  Christian  Power,  and  the  beneficent  effect 
of  the  change  was  marked  in  the  spirit  of  legis- 
lation. The  Code  and  Institutes  of  Justinian 
are  the  sign  of  the  immense  advance  which  had 
been  made  in  the  policy,  and,  indeed,  in  the 
whole  conception,  of  government.^  A  new  con- 
sciousness of  the  worth  of  life,  of  the  rights  of 
the  individual,  of  the  honour  due  to  woman,  of 

^  "The  grand  legacy  of  Roman  law  as  reformed  by  Christian 
ideas." 


76      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

the  duty  of  protecting  the  weak,  and  of  promot- 
ing pubHc  morahty,  had  been  developed.  The 
Church  had  given  the  State  new  social  ideals, 
and  had  created  a  higher  platform  of  citizenship. 
"  Christianity,"  says  Mommsen,  'Svas  the  friend, 
not  the  enemy,  of  the  Empire."  ^  The  Empire 
became  stronger  when  the  emperors  became 
Christian.  It  contained  in  it  the  seeds  of  dis- 
ruption, but  the  germination  of  these  seeds  was 
delayed  by  the  power  of  religion.  Faith  in  God 
was  a  more  potent  bond  of  cohesion  than  the 
deification  of  the  emperor.  And  Christian  wor- 
ship, disciplines,  and  benevolences,  softened  man- 
ners, and,  to  some  extent,  improved  morals.  The 
State  gained;  it  may  be  that  the  Church  lost. 
If  the  former  received  a  deeper  force  from  the 
latter,  possibly  the  latter  appropriated  too  much 
from  the  former.  There  were  better  emperors ; 
there  may  have  been  worse  bishops.  Though 
the  Church  christened,  it  failed  to  regenerate, 
the  Empire. 

We  observe  with  interest  the  influence  of  the 
missionary  efforts  of  the  Church  in  a  direction 
which  was  destined  to  affect  the  Empire.  The 
Gospel  had  penetrated  at  an  early  date  into  the 
regions  which  were  inhabited  by  hordes  of  bar- 
barians,   who   hung   like   a   dark    cloud    on    the 

^  Quoted  in  Ramsay's  'Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,'  p.  193. 


Social  Inflttence  of  Missionary  Efforts,     y'j 

frontier  of  the   Roman   State.     It  found  its  way 
into  these  regions  through  Christian  captives.     A 
bishop   of    the    Goths    attended   the    Council   of 
Nicsea.     In    341    Ulphilas    was    consecrated    to 
labour  among  them.     A  sermon  of  Chrysostom, 
preached  in  398,  pointed  to  Goths,  one  of  whom 
had  addressed  the  congregation,  as   ''the    most 
savage  race  of  men,  but  standing  there  together 
with  the  lambs  of  the  Church."^     Mission  bands 
had  travelled  through  the  forests  of  Germany  and 
introduced  a  civilisation  concerning  which  it  has 
been  said  that  "  if  modern  life  has  not  decayed 
like  ancient,   and   pure  family  life   still   supplies 
fresh  forces  to  races  a  thousand  years  old,  this  is 
due  above  all  to  the  teachings  of  Christ  acting 
on    German   barbaric   virtue."  ^      Now   the   fruit 
of    all    this    labour,    as   regarded    from    a    social 
view-point,  was  apparent  when   Goth  and   Hun 
and  Teuton  found  their  opportunity  in  the  con- 
dition   of  Rome  —  its    aristocracy    enervated    by 
luxury,  its  population  burdened  by  taxation,  and 
a   vast   proportion    of  it   sunk   in   slavery.     The 
northern  armies  swept  through  the  sunny  plains 
of  Italy  and  ravaged  the  Eternal  City.     But  a 
double  spell  laid  its  arrest  on  them.     They  were 
awed  by  the  indefinable  sense  of  the  majesty  of 

1  Neander's  Church  History,  vol.  iii.  p.  1S2. 

2  Gesta  Christi,  p.  1 19. 


yS      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

Rome,  as  that  was  evidenced  to  them  in  the 
splendour  of  its  buildings,  and  the  tokens  of  an 
opulence  of  life  which  contrasted  with  the  rude 
simplicity  of  their  Fatherlands.  They  were  im- 
pressed still  more  by  the  Christian  sanctuaries; 
and  the  obligations  of  the  august  name  which 
they  had  been  taught  to  adore  disposed  them 
to  moderation,  to  respect  women  and  children, 
and  to  recognise  the  sanctity  of  the  places  of 
Christian  worship.  No  temple  or  church  was 
desecrated,  and  none  who  claimed  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Church  were  injured. 

Associated  as  the  Church  was  with  the  Empire, 
the  lines  of  its  development,  as  an  organised  social 
force,  were  to  some  extent  parallel  to  those  of 
the  Empire.  As  the  latter  power  had  absorbed 
nationalities  and  welded  differences  of  race  and 
government  into  a  vast,  though  not  entirely 
homogeneous,  unity,  so  the  Church  gradually  re- 
duced ancient  local  independences,  crushed  out 
diversities  which  seemed  to  menace  the  solidarity 
of  the  system,  and  stiffened  rule  and  ritual  into 
hard  uniformities.  The  arrangements  of  the 
Empire  were  largely  adopted  by  the  Church. 
The  provinces,  with  their  proconsuls  or  procura- 
tors, were  frequently  accepted  as  dioceses  whose 
chief  officers  were  the  bishops.  In  Roman  ad- 
ministration,   above    the   proconsuls,  there   were 


The  Growth  of  the  Papacy.  79 

dignitaries  of  patrician  rank,  the  copestone  01 
the  poHtical  edifice  being  the  emperor.  Simi- 
larly in  the  Church,  above  the  bishops  there 
were  archbishops,  metropolitans,  patriarchs,  the 
supreme  elevation  being,  after  a  time,  accorded 
to  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  His  claims  were  sup- 
ported by  the  prestige  of  the  great  city,  by  the 
sacredness  which  was  attached  to  the  chair  of  St 
Peter,  by  the  need  of  a  head  in  the  complexity 
of  interests  which  the  advances  of  the  Church 
caused,  and,  it  must  be  added,  by  unblushing 
mendacities.^  When,  in  476,  the  boy,  Romulus 
Augustus,  was  compelled  to  resign  the  shadow  of 
Roman  sovereignty,  the  way  was  cleared  for  the 
indisputable  supremacy  of  the  Roman  See.  The 
bishop  now  took  the  place  of  the  heathen  Pon- 
tifex  Maximus.  The  emperor  used  to  provide 
alimentations  for  the  poor,  the  bishop  henceforth 
did  so.  For  three  centuries,  the  see  **  sat  as  the 
ghost  of  the  deceased  Empire  crowned  on  the 
grave  thereof." 

Thus  the  Papacy  assumed  the  most  prominent 
place  in  the  organisation  of  the  Church.  But,  in 
occupying  the  standpoint  which  the  beginning  of 

^  E.g.^  the  forgery  of  the  Donation  of  Constantine,  "whereby  it 
was  pretended  that  power  over  Italy  and  the  West  had  been  granted 
by  the  first  Christian  emperor  to  Pope  Sylvester  and  his  successors 
in  the  chair  of  St  Peter."— The  Holy  Roman  Empire,  p.  40. 


8o      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chttrch. 

the  tenth  century  presents,  we  are  reminded  of 
great  developments,  great  struggles  that  synchro- 
nised with  this  gradual  assumption,  and  that 
impressed  themselves  on  the  political  and  reli- 
gious condition  of  Europe.  The  Frankish-Roman 
Empire  had  waxed  and  had  waned.  It  origin- 
ated in  the  felt  necessity  of  a  strong  arm  to  pro- 
tect the  Church  and  Italy  from  external  pressures 
and  from  internal  dissensions.  Pepin,  son  of 
Charles  Martel,  was,  in  754,  invested  with  the 
purple  of  patrician  of  the  Romans — "the  first  of 
a  long  line  of  Teutonic  kings  who  were  to  find 
the  love  of  Rome  more  deadly  than  her  hate." 
The  mystic  medieval  Roman  Empire  was  fully 
inaugurated  when  Charles,  Pepin's  son,  better 
known  as  Charlemagne,  kneeling  before  the  altar 
of  Sl  Peter's,  received  from  the  Pope  the  crown  of 
the  Caesars. 

There  is  no  occasion  to  follow  the  course  of 
events,  as  that  was  shaped  by  this  attempt  to 
unite  Western  Christendom.  Charlemagne,  mag- 
num et  orthodoxus  Imperator,  bequeathed  a  diadem 
which  sat  uneasily  on  the  brow  of  his  successors, 
and  the  benefits  of  which,  lO  the  nations  of  the 
West,  were  more  than  doubtful.  "  The  epoch 
of  the  Carlovingian  dynasty,"  says  Mr  Hallam, 
**was  the  worst  that  Europe  has  ever  known,  and 
the   social   misery  of  that   epoch  extended   into 


Church  and  State.  8 1 

generations  following."^  It  is  more  relevant  to 
our  present  purpose  to  note  the  determination 
of  the  Church's  poHcy  which  coincides  with  this 
epoch. 

In  the  earHer  part  of  the  new  regime,  the 
theory  was  that  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal 
monarchies  were  co-ordinate,  the  spiritual  rul- 
ing the  souls,  the  temporal  the  bodies,  of  men. 
But,  on  the  principle  that  the  soul  is  superior 
to  the  body,  the  Church,  at  a  later  date,  asserted 
a  sovereignty  superior  to  that  of  the  emperor — 
an  assertion  which  reached  its  climax  in  the 
pontificate  of  Hildebrand  (Gregory  VII.)  The 
theory  no  longer  was  the  union  of  Church  and 
State,  but  the  ascendancy  of  the  Church  over 
the  State.  The  first  duty  of  the  State  was  to 
serve  the  Church  by  repressing  schism,  by  mak- 
ing the  judgments  and  acts  of  the  Pope  effectual, 
and  by  rendering  obedience  in  all  things ;  and 
the  artillery  by  which  the  Church  enforced  its 
behests  consisted  in  the  terrors  of  excommuni- 
cation and  the  release  of  subjects  from  allegi- 
ance to  their  rulers.     An  ecclesiastical  despotism 

^  The  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages,  p.  23.  It  is 
right,  however,  to  say  that  it  was  the  Church  that,  even  in  the 
dark  ages,  kept  learning  alive,  and  that  rendered  possible  the  in- 
stitution of  the  schools  of  Charlemagne  (under  Alcuin  of  York), 
and  thus  secured  to  some  extent  both  a  learned  clergy  and  an 
educated  laity. 


82      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

that  reached  its  height  between  the  tenth  and 
the  twelfth  centuries  is  the  most  prominent 
feature  in  the  external  estate  of  the  Church. 


II. 

Surveying  the  scene,  then,  as  it  is  presented 
in  the  ages  loosely  called  the  Middle  Ages,  the 
situation  is  briefly  this :  The  fusion  of  nations 
has  resulted  in  confusion,  which  there  is  no 
power  strong  enough  to  remedy.  Not  the  old 
Empire,  whose  seat  had  been  transferred  to  the 
Bosphorus,  for  it  was  too  weak  even  to  con- 
trol its  centre.  Not  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
which  was  parting  from  its  mystical  ideal.  The 
ancient  barbarian  unities  had  been  shaken,  but 
they  had  not  been  replaced  by  a  higher  unity. 
New  combinations  were  called  for,  but  the  answer 
to  the  call  was  slow  to  come.  The  old  had  died, 
but  it  had  died  hard ;  the  new  had  a  difficult 
birth,  and  a  still  more  difficult  growth.  And  the 
Church,  which  should  have  been  the  unifying 
force,  shared  in  the  general  corruption.  Out- 
wardly, it  was  a  magnificent  and  compacted 
system.  And  in  the  interests  of  civilisation  this 
was  good.  Whatever  of  gentleness,  of  culture, 
of  higher  life,  was  in  these  ages — and  there  was 
much — was  shielded  from  violence  by  it,  and  was 


The  Middle  Ages.  8 


J 


nourished  within  it.  But  it  failed  to  educate  a 
pure  pubHc  morality,  as  it  should  have  done ; 
and  this  for  two  reasons.  First,  in  borrowing 
the  clothes  of  the  Empire,  it  exchanged  the  im- 
perialism of  truth  for  that  of  worldly  power. 
And  second,  in  assimilating  to  its  discipline 
fragments  of  the  paganisms  which  it  conquered, 
it  appropriated  not  only  things  picturesque, 
venerable  through  association  with  national  his- 
tories, and  in  themselves  harmless,  but  other 
elements  that  were  foreign  to  the  simplicity  in 
Christ  and  that  bred  superstitions.  In  respect 
of  its  action  on  the  deeper  life  of  man,  all 
that  was  great  and  powerful  in  it  issued  from 
the  elect  spirits  —  the  saints,  missionaries,  and 
learned  theologians  and  doctors  like  Aquinas — 
who,  with  a  few  exceptions,  had  no  share  in 
the  guidance  of  its  outward  policies.  On  the 
occasion  of  a  papal  jubilee  heaps  of  silver  and 
gold  were  borne  into  the  treasury  of  St  Peter. 
The  Pope  said  to  Thomas  Aquinas,  "  Peter 
could  not  say  now,  '  Silver  and  gold  have  I 
none.'"  ''No,"  replied  Thomas;  ''No,  your 
Blessedness,  nor  could  he  say  now,  '  In  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise  up  and 
walk.'  "1 

These  middle  ages  were  full  of  contradictions. 

^  Gore,  The  Mission  of  the  Church,  p.  169. 


84      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church, 

We  call  them  dark ;  and  so,  in  some  respects, 
they  were:  but  in  them  universities  were  founded, 
many  lamps  were  kindled  by  fire  from  Rome,  if 
not  from  heaven,  and  schoolmen  and  scholars, 
whose  pedantries  must  not  render  us  forgetful  of 
their  wonderful  learning,  traversed  the  Continent 
propounding  theses,  holding  disputations,  labori- 
ously writing  treatises.^  We  think  of  them  as 
disordered ;  and  so  they  were :  but  in  them 
cathedrals,  and  abbeys,  and  churches,  were 
reared  whose  architecture  is  the  admiration  of 
our  day.  We  look  on  them  as  lacking  in 
moral  cohesion  and  social  organisation ;  and 
so  they  were :  but  their  guilds  and  fraternities, 
though  impossible  in  later  periods,  regulated 
trades,  established  relations  of  protection  and 
sympathy  between  employers  and  employed, 
and  were  surrounded  by  things  beautiful  and 
picturesque.  We  speak  of  them  as  rough  and 
rude ;  and  so  they  were :  but  the  reverence  for 
gentleness  and  humility  was  widely  spread, 
woman  was  elevated,  the  care  of  the  orphan  and 

^  Between  the  tentli  and  the  twelfth  centuries  there  was  a 
gradual  awakenment  of  intellect.  To  this  the  Crusades,  and,  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  time,  the  rediscovery  of  the  whole  writings 
of  Aristotle,  contributed.  From  the  thirteenth  century  to  the 
Renaissance  the  scholastic  philosophy  dominated.  The  doctors 
were  supreme.  The  decline  of  scholasticism  developed  a  spirit 
of  freedom,  and  thus  prepared  the  way  for  the  Reformation. 


Feudalism.  85 

the  widow  was  secured  by  the  noblesse  oblige  of 
chivalry.  A  spiritual,  poetical  element  was  in- 
fused into  social  life,  and  showed  itself  frequently 
in  unexpected  ways.  They  were  heroic  ages,  on 
whose  canvas  are  thrown  the  figures  of  mighty 
men,  men  of  renown.  They  were  ages  of  en- 
thusiasm, as  the  Crusades  abundantly  testify. 
They  were  ages  of  faith.  They  were  ages  of 
art.  In  respect  of  social  condition,  though  the 
mass  of  the  people  was  exploited,  mankind  was 
slowly  moving  towards  emancipations.  From 
the  tenth  century,  the  manumission  of  serfs 
became  ever  more  frequent,  *'  the  principal 
cause,"  writes  an  old  chronicler,  "  being  piety 
and  love  towards  God."  One  of  the  Mendicant 
Orders  established  in  the  thirteenth  century — 
the  Franciscan — had  for  its  object  the  tending 
of  the  poor. 

Regarding  the  social  fabric  in  general,  the 
most  characteristic  feature  of  the  centuries  we 
are  reviewing  was  the  system  of  Feudalism. 
Possibly,  the  root  of  this  system  was  the 
Roman  conception  of  the  patronus.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  under  the  Frankish-Roman  Empire,  it 
spread  and  dominated  over  Europe,  gradually 
displacing  older  German  organisations  and  other 
codes.  In  the  first  instance,  feudalism  was  not 
so    much    a    political   as   a   social    development. 


86      The  Social  Vocal  io?i  of  I  he  Clmrck. 

In  times  when  the  executive  was  too  weak  to 
make  the  State  in  its  unity  powerful  in  all  dis- 
tricts and  over  all  elements  of  the  nationality,  it 
was  a  rough-and-ready  way  of  ensuring  a  kind 
of  order,  a  semblance  at  least  of  protection  based 
on  the  principle  of  reciprocal  service.  From  the 
ninth  until  the  fourteenth  century,  it  grew  and 
prevailed;  and  in  its  growth  it  assumed  such 
proportions,  and  ramified  in  so  many  directions, 
that  a  description  of  it  is  impossible.  Let  it 
suffice  to  say  that  the  soil  of  the  country  was 
held  on  the  two  conditions  —  that  the  owner 
was  responsible  for  the  people  resident  on  or 
cultivating  the  soil,  they,  on  the  other  hand, 
being  bound  to  follow  his  lead  in  war,  and  to 
render  obedience  to  him  as  their  lord ;  and, 
further,  that  the  lord  or  owner  was  under  obli- 
gation to  give  a  like  obedience  to  his  suzerain, 
who,  in  his  turn,  extended  authority  and  pro- 
tection to  him.  Over  all  suzerains  or  superiors 
was  the  sovereign — the  supreme  and  paramount 
lord,  the  pulse  of  the  machine,  to  whose  call 
the  feudal  chiefs,  in  every  degree,  were  under 
covenant  to  respond.  Thus,  as  the  years  passed, 
there  arose  territorial  aristocracies  and  squire- 
archies, with  many  gradations,  each  grade  re- 
producing the  essential  idea  of  the  system,  and 
forming  a  ruling  class  so  widely  spread  that  a 


The  Church  a?td  Feudalism.  87 

kingdom    represented    an    indefinite    number   of 
small  kingships,  the  monarch  being,  not  so  much 
the  one  king  and  judge,  as  the  head  of  all  the 
petty  sovereignties,   he  their  chief  and  they  his 
vassals.      It  is  easy  to  see  what  scope  for  the 
exercise  of  both  virtues  and  vices  such  a  state 
of  matters  allowed.     The  good  despot  could  do 
much    for   those   under   his   care,   though,    if  he 
were  in   the  inferior  ranks,  his  efforts  might  be 
neutralised   by   the   action    of  those  above  him. 
The    ambitious    and   unscrupulous    kept    vassals 
and  serfs  alike  in  a  thraldom  which  cut  off  all 
occasions  and  even  desires  of  social  or  material 
improvement.     The  institution,  as  a  whole,  pre- 
vented social  life  from  "  making  increase  to  the 
edifying  of  itself  in  love."    Justice  was  a  baron's 
affair.      The  uses  and  wonts  of  a  rougher  and 
earlier   day   had   disappeared.      The   superior   of 
a  domain   had    or   took  jurisdiction    in    it,   even 
to   the   extent   of  inflicting  capital   punishment. 
It  was  not  until  the  middle    of  the    fourteenth 
century   that   the   majesty   of    imperial    law    as- 
serted itself. 

The  Church  fulfilled  a  mission  of  benevolence 
to  those  whom  feudality  oppressed.  It  was  so  far 
under  the  yoke,  for  its  prelates  and  abbots  were 
feudal  lords.  But  its  influence  was,  on  the  whole 
and  vigorously,  on  the  side  of  the  villeins  or  serfs. 


88      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chtirch, 

In  the  estates  which  were  held  as  its  patrimonies 
or  baronies,  the  conditions  of  tenure  were  more 
favourable  to  liberty  and  enterprise  than  in  the 
estates  of  barons  or  lairds  obliged  to  do  military 
service.  The  bishop's  riggs,  or  the  abbey  lands, 
often  presented  a  marked  contrast  to  the  riggs 
and  lands  of  the  lay  neighbours.  In  more  direct 
ways,  however,  Christianity  interposed.  The  con- 
dition of  the  Theoiis  or  serfs  was  deplorable.  They 
were  fixed  to  the  soil  so  that  they  could  not  re- 
move from  it.  They  were  the  absolute  property 
of  their  master.  "They  were  not  reckoned  among 
the  people."  The  Church  protested  and  laboured 
against  this  servitude.  "  That  Christians  should 
be  removed  from  it,"  the  Council  of  Chalons  in 
the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  declared  to  be 
*' the  demand  of  the  highest  pity  and  religion."^ 
A  historian  of  the  middle  ages  asserts,  as  has 
already  been  noticed,  that  pietas  et  caritas  ergo 
Deum  was  the  more  frequent  cause  of  the  libera- 
tion of  serfs ;  and  the  forms  of  manumission 
witness  to  the  penetration  of  society  by  a  Christ- 
ian spirit.  The  Crusades  aided  the  movement. 
They  realised  the  ideal  of  a  Christian  common- 
wealth in  which  high  and  low  were  equally  sharers. 
The  enthusiasm  which  they  inspired  tended  to 
break  down  the  barriers  between  class  and  class. 

1  Gesta  Christi,  p.  128. 


Monks  a7id  Monachism.  89 

Feudal  chiefs,  before  joining  in  the  crusade,  re- 
leased their  slaves.  How  far  Christian  sentiment 
operated  in  diffusing  the  sentiments  of  humanity 
is  evidenced  in  a  proclamation  of  the  Emperor 
Sigismund  towards  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  *' It  is  an  unheard-of  thing,"  so  runs 
the  proclamation,  "that  in  the  holy  Christianity 
one  should  be  so  proud  as  to  say  to  a  man,  '  Thou 
art  mine.'  He  is  against  Christ,  and  all  the  com- 
mandments of  God  are  lost  on  him." 

In  the  Latin  Church  (as  distinguished  from 
the  Eastern),  the  most  characteristic  trend  of  the 
mediaeval  period  was  the  expansion,  followed  by 
the  decadence,  of  monachism.  In  this  we  recog- 
nise a  spirit  and  a  habit  which  were  imported  into 
the  Church.  Palestinian  Essenism  left  its  mark 
on  some  of  Christ's  disciples.  But,  ages  before 
the  day  of  Christ,  the  ascetic  spirit  was  prevalent 
in  the  East.  It  came  into  Christianity,  and  it 
came  to  stay.  It  was  fostered  by  the  antagonism, 
which  pious  souls  keenly  felt,  of  a  world  that 
seemed  to  them  to  be  lying  in  the  wicked  one. 
The  cliffs  and  sandhills  of  Syria  and  Egypt  were 
perforated  by  the  cells  of  eremites,  endeavouring, 
in  solitary  contemplation,  to  realise  the  peace 
for  which  they  sought  in  vain  in  the  haunts  of 
men.  And  since  man,  even  when  ascetic,  is  a 
social  animal,  companies  of  Christians  flying  from 


90      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church, 

the  world,  and  giving  themselves  wholly  to  God, 
were  formed.  Before  the  thirteenth  century  there 
were  many  orders  of  monks,  including  the  order  of 
St  Benedict  with  all  its  branches.  From  the  thir- 
teenth to  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Dominicans, 
with  their  subdivisions,  were  organised.  Time 
would  fail  for  even  the  most  cursory  account  of 
the  spread  of  the  conventual  system.  The  monas- 
tery and  the  convent  were  everywhere  in  evidence. 
They  were  regarded  with  special  favour.  Charle- 
magne called  abbots  the  chivalry  of  his  empire. 
Lands  and  gifts  were  lavishly  bestowed  on  them. 
In  the  earlier  half  of  the  middle  ages,  all  that  was 
most  devoted  in  the  ranks  of  ecclesiastics  was  con- 
nected with  them.  The  regular  clergy — that  is, 
the  clergy  under  conventual  rule — were,  taken  as 
a  whole,  superior  in  learning,  zeal,  and  piety  to 
the  secular  or  parochial  clergy. 

Justice  compels  us  to  acknowledge  the  debt  of 
Christian  civilisation  to  the  religious  orders.  The 
monastery  was  not  merely  a  refuge  for  the  in- 
dolent or  the  feeble  or  those  who  were  weary 
of  life.  It  was  much  more :  it  was  a  home  for 
those  who,  under  conditions  of  society  that  were 
unfavourable  to  the  cultivation  of  piety,  sought 
in  it  that  opportunity  of  living  religiously  which 
they  desired.  It  was,  as  the  ministry  of  the 
Church  through  all  the  centuries  was,  an  equal- 


The  Decline  of  Monachism.  91 

ising  institution.  All  classes  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest  found  a  place  in  the  orders  of  St 
Benedict  or  St  Dominic.  The  Regulars  were 
the  intermediaries  between  the  rich  and  the 
poor.  ''  The  friendship  of  the  poor,"  says  St 
Bernard,  "  constitutes  us  the  friends  of  kings, 
but  the  love  of  poverty  makes  kings  of  us."  ^ 
If  we  ask,  Who  were  the  erudite  men  of  the 
time  ?  we  find  that  a  large  majority,  including 
Aquinas,  Duns  Scotus,  &c.,  was  composed  of 
monks.  The  preachers,  some  of  them  mighty 
in  eloquence,  were  monks.  The  great  mission- 
aries were  monks.  From  the  orders  of  Bene- 
dictines came  those  who  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  Christian  society  in  England,  Germany, 
and  Belgium.  In  days  of  fierce  warfare  and 
bloody  feuds,  the  Regulars  promoted  the  truces 
and  peaces  of  God.  They  were  friends  of  the 
people  in  their  revolts  from  oppression :  the 
monks  of  Cluny,  for  instance,  rose  against 
the  abuses  of  feudalism.  They  were  the  en- 
gineers, the  architects,  the  farmers,  the  builders 
of  their  generations.  They  undertook  journeys 
through  Europe,  preaching  Christian  brotherhood 
in  many  lands.  Even  when  the  first  love  was 
lost,  when  wealth  on  the  one  hand  and  super- 
stition on  the  other  caused  *'  the  white  to  grow 

^  The  Monks  of  the  West,  vol.  i.  p.  54. 


92      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

murky,"  there  were  those  of  them  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy,  those  to  whom  the  word 
written  concerning  Benedict  might  be  appHed, 
^^Ipse  Fundator  placidce  qiiietis.'"  ^ 

But — to  quote  the  w^ords  of  Count  Montalem- 
bert,  the  panegyrist  of  the  monks  of  the  West — 
"  there  came  a  time  when  the  abuse  of  monachism 
overpowered  the  law,  when  the  exception  eclipsed 
the  rule,"  when  "  life  ebbed  away  from  the  mon- 
astic foundations,  not  religious  life  only,  but  life  of 
every  kind."^  Dante  represents  St  Benedict  him- 
self as  saying  to  the  poet,  who  craves  to  look  on 
his  form  "  by  no  covering  veiled  " — 

"  My  rule 
Is  left  a  profitless  stain  upon  the  leaves  ; 
The  walls  for  abbey  reared  turned  into  dens  ; 
The  cowls  to  sacks  choked  up  with  musty  meal. 
Foul  usury  doth  not  more  lift  itself 
Against  God's  pleasure  than  that  fruit  which  makes 
The  hearts  of  monks  so  wanton."  ^ 

The  champions  of  monachism  say  that  the 
houses  should  have  been  reformed  and  the  orders 
reconstituted.  But  the  reformer  who  had  power 
to  give  effect  to  his  plan  did  not  appear.  Instead 
of  him  was  heard  the  sterner  voice,  *'  Cut  down, 
why  cumber  they  the  ground  ?  "  "  When,"  ex- 
claimed   Bossuet,    *'  a    religious    order    becomes 

1  The  Monks  of  the  West,  vol.  i.  p.  87.  ^  ibid.,  pp.  132,  142. 

'  Paradiso,  Canto  22. 


The  Dawn  of  a  Neiv  Period.  93 

inferior,  it  is  no  longer  anything  but  a  spiritual 
corpse  and  its  own  living  tomb."^  As  the  era  of 
Reformation  dawned,  the  conventual  fellowships 
were  proved  to  be  spiritual  corpses,  tombs,  not 
nurseries,  of  life.  And  thus  it  fares  with  all 
attempts  of  men  "  to  wind  themselves  too  high 
for  mortal  man  beneath  the  sky."  The  social 
life  which  Christianity  takes  to  its  heart  is  a 
robust  and  hardy  plant  that  needs  thfe  fresh 
free  air  of  heaven,  and  the  regulation,  not  the 
suppression,  of  the  affections  implanted  in  the 
heart.  We  feel  that  the  swift  witness  against 
monachism  was  both  stern  and  just,  whilst  at 
the  same  time  we  recognise  that  "if  we  follow 
the  furrows  which  monastery  and  order  have  dug 
in  history  we  shall  find  everywhere  the  traces  of 
their  beneficence."  ^ 

The  decline  of  the  papacy  may  be  dated 
from  the  fourteenth  century.  Its  authority  was 
weakened  by  flagrant  scandals,  by  the  removal 
of  the  papal  court  to  Avignon  and  the  residence 
of  popes  there  for  several  decades,  by  the  elec- 
tion of  rival  popes,  the  nominees  of  rival 
empires,  and  by  the  general  deterioration  of 
morals  among  the  clergy.  Other  influences 
were  also  active.  Europe  was  beginning  to 
awake     from     a     long     and     deep     intellectual 

^  The  Monks  of  the  West,  vol.  i.  p.  149.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  163. 


94      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  CJmrch. 

slumber.  Classical  learning  revived.  Indi- 
vidual minds  were  stirred.  Preachers,  keenly 
perceptive  of  the  evils  of  their  time,  waxed 
bold.  Associations,  inspired  by  a  more  free  and 
evangelical  spirit  than  that  of  the  orders,  were 
originated,  and  their  influence  spread.  As  the 
fifteenth  century  advanced,  the  signs  of  a  com- 
ing day  of  the  Lord  became  more  and  more 
clear.     That  day  came  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

But  here  we  approach  the  border -land  of 
modern  history,  and  this  marks  the  limit  of  the 
present  survey. 

Our  object  has  been  to  indicate  some  of  the 
principles,  features,  and  issues,  of  the  aggressive 
action  of  the  Church,  as  an  institution  with  a 
definite  social  character  and  mission.  We  have 
followed  its  onward  way  through  the  storms 
which  beset  it  in  earlier  days,  and  the  confu- 
sions which  resulted  from  the  decline  and  the 
ultimate  disruption  of  the  great  Roman  Empire. 
We  have  seen  it  gathering  nations  under  its 
wings,  and  planting  civilisations  in  the  lands  of 
Europe  and  beyond.  The  dark  shadows  on  its 
history  it  is  easy  to  trace ;  but  these  must  not 
be  so  projected  as  to  thrust  out  of  sight  the 
social  benefits  which  were  wrought.  It  is  no 
exaggeration  to  afiirm  that,  but  for  the  Church 
and    municipal    government,    Italy    would    have 


The  Actio7i  of  the  Church  on  Society.     95 

been  wrecked,  and  Europe  would  have  pre- 
sented the  spectacle  of  a  multitude  of  states 
more  or  less  barbarous,  everlastingly  at  feud,  and 
without  any  bond  of  unity.  If  the  Church  could 
not  curb  the  ambitions  of  princes  and  the  feuds 
of  nobles,  if,  too  often,  in  its  policy  it  played 
the  part  of  a  power  more  wily  than  any  world- 
power,  yet,  in  the  labours  and  services  of  its 
clergy,  its  missionaries,  its  fraternities,  it  vindi- 
cated the  cause  of  the  weak  and  asserted  the 
rights  of  the  something  that  is  in  all  men — the 
rights  of  humanity.  By  its  communications,  by 
the  communions  between  peoples  which  it  estab- 
lished, by  the  witness  which  it  bore  to  a  good 
of  which  all  nations  were  partakers,  it  realised 
in  dim  outline  *'  a  parliament  of  man,  a  federa- 
tion of  the  world."  Why  it  did  not  more 
rapidly  and  surely  Christianise  the  continent 
which  owned  its  sway,  is  a  question  the  reply 
to  which  is  manifold.  But  it  brought  in  large 
measures  of  good,  and  it  prepared  for  still 
larger  measures  in  future  times.  It  gave  ideals 
of  virtue,  freedom,  love.  It  infused  the  spirit 
of  reverence  into  the  civilisation  it  guided.  It 
opened  up  idealisations  of  life  that  checked  the 
scramble  for  mere  material  and  territorial  gain, 
that  softened  the  coarseness  of  manners,  that 
inculcated  the  dignity  of  womanhood,  that  pro- 


96       The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

claimed  the  sanctity  of  the  home,  that  enjoined 
the  duty  of  the  strong  to  support  the  weak. 
The  tares  indeed  grew  in  rank  luxuriance, 
threatening  often  to  choke  the  wheat,  but  the 
wheat  remained — pure  grain  and  wholesome — in 
the  midst  of  manifold  corruption. 


97 


CHAPTER    VI. 

NATIONAL   CHURCHES    AND    THEIR   SOCIAL   WORK. 

Looking  beyond  the  limits  of  Palestine,  and  far 
away  into  "  dim  and  distant  courses "  of  the 
future,  our  Lord  contemplated  other  sheep  than 
those  of  the  Jewish  fold,  whom  to  bring,  He 
declared,  was  the  necessity  of  His  mission,  in 
order  that,  hearing  His  voice,  they  might  be 
made  partakers  of  His  grace,  and  in  their  several 
folds— i.e.,  the  varieties  of  their  estate — might 
be  comprehended  in  one  world-wide  and  world- 
without-end  flock,  under  the  guidance  of  Himself, 
the  one  universal  Shepherd.^  The  ideal  of  the 
Christian  brotherhood  which  He  thus  presents  is 
a  catholicity  which  allows  ample  scope  for  diver- 
sities. St  Paul  gives  another  form  to  the  con- 
ception of  his  Master  when  he  says  that  in  the 
new  humanity  which  Christians  ''  put  on,"  "  there 
cannot  be  Greek  and  Jew,  circumcision  and  un- 
circumcision,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bondman,  free- 

1  St  John  X.  i6. 
G 


98      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

man,  but  Christ  is  all  and  in  all."  The  point  of 
his  assertion  is,  not  that  the  distinctions  which 
he  indicates  are  obliterated,  but  that,  in  the  large 
and  charitable  air  of  Christianity,  they  are  no 
longer  causes  of  separation  ;  they  are  only  as  the 
differing  tones  which  blend  in  noble  music,  the 
discords  which  they  once  denoted  having  been 
quenched  by  the  *'  meeting  harmonies "  of  the 
Gospel,  which  has  made  peace  between  Jew  and 
Gentile,  and  revealed  the  Christ  of  God  as  the 
Redeemer  and  Head  of  mankind.  For  there  are 
affinities  of  race  and  blood,  rooted  in  the  nature 
of  things,  that  link  peoples  together  in  special 
intimacies,  forming  climates  of  thought  and 
feeling  by  which  all  are  subtly  affected.  To 
ignore  these  affinities,  is  impossible ;  to  make 
room  for  them,  permeating  them  at  the  same 
time  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  subordinating 
them  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  ends  common 
to  the  whole  Christian  society,  is  the  secret  of 
a  truly  catholic  community.  The  vision  of  the 
Church  triumphant  that  thrilled  the  heart  of  St 
John  was  that  of  '*a  great  multitude,  which  no 
man  could  number,  out  of  every  nation,  and  of  all 
tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues,  standing  before 
the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb."  ^  National, 
tribal,   language,  variations  are  recognised;    but 

^  Revelation  vii.  9. 


National  Diversities.  99 

they  are  the  elements  of  the  eternal  unity,  the 
notes  that  are  harmonised  in  the  great  voice 
of  praise,  "  Unto  our  God  Who  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb." 

In  the  fluid  period  of  the  Church's  history,  there 
was  no  difficulty  in  combining  national  and  tribal 
diversities  with  the  idea  of  the  one  Church.  For 
the  unity  then  was  spiritual  rather  than  ecclesias- 
tical. There  was  the  *'  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over 
all,  and  through  all,  and  in  all.''^  It  was  enough 
that  those  who  believed  were  baptised  into  Christ 
and  remained  steadfast  in  the  "  apostles'  teaching 
and  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  bread  and  the 
prayers."^  They  formed  companies,  separated, 
by  their  faith  and  worship,  from  many  of  the 
religious  observances  and  social  customs  of  the 
civic  societies  that  constituted  their  environment, 
yet  otherwise  maintaining  the  relations  of  citizen- 
ship towards  these  societies.  But,  as  the  ages 
progressed,  complications  ensued.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  Church,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
gradually  consolidated  on  lines  in  many  respects 
parallel  to  those  of  the  Empire.  From  the  ninth 
century,  when  the  supremacy  of  the  Roman  See 
was  complete,  the  tendency  was  in  the  direction 
of  a  uniformity  of  rule  and  ritual  with  which  local 

^  Ephesians  iv.  5,  6.  2  ^^,^5  jj^  ^2. 


loo     TJie  Social  Vocation  of  the  CJntrch. 

and  national  differences  were  apt  to  collide.  By 
its  insistence  on  religious  unity,  Christianity  had 
always  opposed  Polytheism,  with  its  many  gods 
and  many  rites,  but,  in  the  earlier  days,  elastici- 
ties, in  the  details  of  discipline,  were  not  regarded 
as  inconsistent  with  the  truth  of  an  essentially 
spiritual  unity.  In  proportion  as  the  government 
of  the  Church  became  ohgarchical,  and  finally 
monarchical,  these  elasticities  were  discounten- 
anced as  incompatible  with  the  solidarity  of  the 
ecclesiastical  system. 

Along  with  this  Church  development,  we  observe 
a  change  in  the  plan  of  the  Church's  aggressive 
campaign.  The  more  primitive  Christianity  aimed 
at  the  conversion  of  individual  souls.  The  work- 
ing of  the  faith  was  often  from  the  base  upwards. 
*'  God  chose  the  foolish  things  of  the  world,  that 
He  might  put  to  shame  them  that  are  wise ;  and 
God  chose  the  weak  things  of  the  world,  that  He 
might  put  to  shame  the  things  that  are  strong."^ 
But,  in  later  missions,  the  object  was  to  reach  the 
head  of  the  tribe  or  nation,  to  secure  his  adhesion, 
and  then  through  him  to  win  the  people  to  the 
adoption  of  the  new  way.  And  two  consequences 
resulted.  The  one,  that  ancient  customs  remained, 
with  at  least  a  certain  potency,  in  the  nominally 
Christian  community.     The  policy  of  the  Church 

^  I  Corinthians  i.  27. 


Frictions  and  Schisms.  loi 

was,  not  to  tear  up  the  social  organism  by  the 
roots,  but  to  reconsecrate  customs  that  were  vener- 
ated, transferring  them  to  Christian  observances, 
and  thus  ingrafting  much  of  the  old  order  into  the 
new.  The  traditions  of  the  nation  were  allowed 
some  room  in  the  adopted  religion.  And  the 
other  consequence  was,  that  peoples,  as  such, 
maintained  their  integrity,  and  imparted  a  savour 
of  their  nationality  to  the  forms  of  their  worship. 
Although  in  the  essentials  of  the  truth  and  in 
the  deference  paid  to  the  Supreme  Pontiff  there 
was  a  substantial  consensus,  differences  in  usage, 
in  that  nameless  force  which  we  may  call  national 
temper,  in  tones  of  thought  and  view,  were  in 
many  ways  made  evident.  The  Church  was  out- 
wardly one,  but,  like  Joseph's  coat,  it  had  many 
colours. 

Accordingly,  frictions  which  it  required  all  the 
diplomacy  of  curias  and  legates  to  adjust,  which 
sometimes  involved  the  exercise  of  the  terrors 
of  the  Church,  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  One 
occasion  of  strife  was  not  adjusted :  the  result  of 
the  feud  was  the  great  schism  between  the  East 
and  the  West ;  and  the  groups  of  churches  which 
adhered  to  the  East  and  its  custom  were,  and  to 
this  day  are,  mirrors  of  the  mind  of  the  peoples 
they  represent — a  mind  stationary,  even  stagnant, 
rigid  as  the  dead  man's  hand  which  is  laid  on  the 


I02      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chirch. 

Patriarch  of  one  of  the  Oriental  Communions  at 
his  consecration.  But,  in  Western  Christendom, 
questions  affecting  national  use  and  wont,  in- 
stitutions into  sees  and  benefices,  the  rights  of 
sovereigns,  the  imposition  of  Papal  tributes,  and 
so  forth,  were  constant  matters  of  dispute.  The 
terrible  power  of  excommunication  exercised  by 
the  Church  —  laying  sovereigns  or  their  peoples, 
or  both,  under  ban  and  curse — is  an  evidence  at 
once  of  the  despotism  of  Rome,  and  of  the 
writhing  of  nationalities  under  it. 

Selecting  as  a  special  instance  that  which  most 
nearly  concerns  us,  let  us  trace  historically  the 
assertion  of  the  national  spirit  in,  or  against,  the 
Church  in  the  British  Isles. 

That  assertion  was  more  marked  in  these  isles 
than  in  Continental  countries.  Their  isolation, 
and  the  character  and  genius  of  their  peoples, 
accounted  for  this.  Moreover,  England  was  not 
so  firmly  riveted  to  the  feudal  system  as  they 
had  been.  For,  William  of  Normandy,  in  con- 
quering it,  modified  that  system,  and  brought 
the  Crown  into  more  direct  contact  with  the  life 
of  the  nation  than  was  realised  in  Teutonic  feudal- 
ism, or  had  been  realised  in  the  Saxon  period. 

The  law  of  England,  indeed,  was  unchallenged 
by  Rome  for  five  centuries  after  Augustine  landed 
in  Thanet,  a.d.  596.     No  appeal  was  taken,  no 


Nationality  of  the  Clm7xli  in  England.     103 

cause  was  submitted  to  the  revision  of  the  Holy 
See,  until  the  reign  of  King  Stephen.     And,  how- 
ever loyal  to  Mother  Church  monarchs  might  be, 
though  occasionally,  for  the  furtherance  of  their 
own  purposes,  they  might  make  concessions  to  the 
Pope,  every  reader  of  English  history  knows  that, 
both    under    the    Norman    and    the    Plantagenet 
dynasties,   a  jealous   eye  was   kept    on    all   acts, 
overt  or  covert,  which  encroached  on  the   pre- 
rogatives of  the  sovereign  or  the  liberties  of  the 
realm.     About  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury the  statute  called  Prcemunire  was  passed,^  a 
statute  that  forbade  a  suit  to  any  foreign  Court 
"  whereof  the  cognisance  pertaineth  to  the  King's 
Court,  under  the  penalty  of  outlawry  and  forfeiture 
of  goods."     And,  towards  the  close  of  the  same 
century,    the    indomitable     English    spirit    rings 
through   words    that    specially   refer   to    Rome — 
"  They  and   all   the   king's   commons  will  stand 
with  our  lord  the  king,  and  his  said  Crown  and 
regality,  in  the  cases  aforesaid,  and  in  all  other 
cases  attempted  against  him,  to  live  and  to  die."  ^ 
Archbishops  and  bishops  concurred  in  this  deter- 
mination ;  the  vox  popiili  and  the  vox  ecclesice  were 
in  unison  over  it.     Thus  it  was  that,  when  Henry 
Vni.,   actuated   by   motives    far   from    lofty,   re- 

^  Passed  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III. 
-  In  the  preamble  of  Statutes,  a.  d.  1392. 


I04      The  Social  Vocatiojt  of  the  Church. 

nounced  allegiance  to  the  pope  and  proclaimed 
the  Crown  supreme  over  all  Estates  of  the  realm, 
*'  old  and  authentic  histories  "  ^  could  be  appealed 
to  in  vindication  of  the  immemorial  nationality  of 
the  English  Church. 

The  early  history  of  Christianity  in  Scotland 
is  shrouded  in  obscurity.  Out  of  the  haze  two 
names,  sacred  and  venerable,  emerge :  Ninian, 
the  apostle  of  Galloway,  who  built  his  famous 
Candida  Casa  about  the  end  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  Kentigern  or  Munghu,  the  apostle  of  Strath- 
clyde,  who,  towards  the  close  of  the  sixth  century, 
had  "his  own  church  of  Glasgu."  But  for  the 
beginning  of  organised  and  continuous  effort  we 
must  turn  our  gaze  to  I,  Hy,  or  lona,  of  which 
even  Dr  Johnson,  with  his  stubborn  contempt  of 
all  that  was  Scotch,  could  write  with  enthusiasm 
as  the  ''  illustrious  island  which  was  once  the 
luminary  of  the  Caledonian  regions,  whence 
savage    clans    and    roving    barbarians    received 

^  In  the  preamble  of  Statutes,  24  Henry  VIII.  The  words 
follow  :  "  The  determination  of  questions,  in  any  cause  of  the  law 
divine,  belongs  to  that  part  of  the  said  body  politic  called  the 
Spirituality,  being  usually  called  the  English  Church,  which  always 
hath  been  regarded  and  also  found  of  this  sort  that,  both  for  know- 
ledge, integrity,  and  sufficiency  of  number,  it  hath  been  always 
thought,  and  is  also,  at  this  time,  sufficient  and  meet  of  itself,  without 
the  intermeddling  of  any  exterior  person,  to  declare  and  determine 
all  such  offices  and  duties  as  to  their  rooms  spiritual  doth 
appertain." 


Nationality  of  the  Church  in  Scotland.     105 

the  benefits  of  knowledge  and  the  blessings  of 
religion."  The  story  of  the  Irish  exile,  St 
Columba,  and  of  his  monks,  of  his  successors, 
of  the  ancient  Celtic  Church,  has  been  so  often 
told,  and  told  with  such  effect  in  past  Baird 
Lectures,  that  there  is  no  need  to  recall  it. 
The  only  point,  now  to  be  emphasised  in  con- 
nection with  it,  is  the  independence  manifest 
in  its  constitution,  in  its  customs,  and  in  the 
manner  of  its  operations.  In  the  sixth  century, 
the  domination  of  Rome  had  not  been  estab- 
lished, and  the  small  but  vigorous  community, 
whose  sanctuary  was  the  remote  Western  isle, 
had  a  comparatively  free  hand  in  the  ordering 
of  its  way.  "  It  was  in  a  sense,"  says  Principal 
Fairbairn,  ^'  a  native  growth,  organised  according 
to  Celtic  ideas,  and  not  according  to  Roman. 
The  monasteries  were  missionary  foundations, 
colleges  where  evangelists  and  preachers  were 
trained,  possessed  of  apostolic  doctrine  and 
authority  within  themselves.  Episcopacy  ex- 
isted, as  there  were  bishops ;  but  it  was  not 
diocesan,  its  sphere  was  congregational  or  com- 
munal rather  than  territorial.  And  this  character 
the  Church  retained  so  long  as  Scotland  remained 
a  Celtic  kingdom ;  when  it  ceased  to  be  this,  the 
Church  underwent  a  parallel  transformation."  ^ 

^  Contemporary  Review,  p.  133. 


io6     The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church, 

The  chief  instrument  in  this  transformation 
was  the  Saxon  princess  Margaret,  who  shared 
with  Malcolm  III.  the  throne  of  Scotland.  She 
was  ''a  woman  nobly  planned,"  whose  gifts  and 
graces  are  deservedly  held  in  grateful  remem- 
brance. But  her  elevation  to  queenly  rank  and 
power  rang  the  knell  of  the  Celtic  Church. 
Augustine,  the  head  of  the  Roman  mission  to 
England,  railed  at  the  uncouthness  of  the  Scottish 
clergy.  Margaret  found  them,  not  only  uncouth, 
but  ignorant  and  indolent.  They  had  fallen  from 
the  high  level  of  their  ancestry.  Retaining  the 
old  peculiarities  as  to  the  tonsure,  the  time  of 
Lent  and  Easter,  and  other  matters,  they  had 
lost  the  old  missionary  spirit.  Fasts  and  festivals 
of  the  Church  were  disregarded.  They  worked 
on  Sunday,  though  they  rested  on  Saturday. 
The  Holy  Eucharist  was  seldom  celebrated. 
They  gave  little  or  no  instruction  to  the 
people.  Their  influence  was  on  the  whole  per- 
nicious. Family  life,  all  life,  was  corrupt.  The 
consort  of  the  big  rough  Malcolm  was  an  acute 
theologian,  and  a  devout  adherent  of  the  Latin 
Church.  She  argued  ;  she  acted.  The  Abbey  of 
Dunfermline  is  a  monument  to  the  pious  queen. 
But  she  had  a  better  monument— that  which  re- 
sulted from  her  strenuous  endeavours  to  rectify 
the  abuses  that  prevailed,  and  to  diffuse  spiritual 


Scottish  Resistance  to  English  Claims.     107 

and  intellectual  light  among  the  half-barbarous 
people  of  her  husband's  realm.  Her  example 
was  a  guiding  star  for  her  children,  especially 
her  younger  son,  David,  who  ultimately  became 
king — the  "  sair  sanct  for  the  Crown." 

Until  the  reign  of  David,  the  Church  was  little 
else  than  a  desultory  agency.  But  he  carried  out 
the  ideas  of  his  mother.  It  is  probable  that,  before 
his  time,  there  was  a  Bishop  of  St  Andrews ;  but 
of  secular  clergy  there  is  no  trace  in  any  deed. 
David  founded  bishoprics  and  religious  houses, 
and  began  a  formal  division  of  the  country  into 
dioceses  and  parishes.  He  organised  the  spiritual 
army.  The  Church,  from  the  date  of  his  reign, 
grew  in  wealth  and  in  power. 

Its  nationality  was  evidenced  in  a  character- 
istically Scottish  fashion — not  primarily  in  resist- 
ance to  Rome,  but  in  resistance  to  the  claims  of 
England.  Submission  to  the  pope  was  the  cover 
under  which  it  repelled  the  attempted  supremacy 
of  the  See  of  York.  It  would  acknowledge  no 
headship  but  that  of  the  chair  of  St  Peter.  After 
long  contentions,  in  which  victory  seemed  often 
doubtful,  it  established  its  independence  of  Eng- 
land, the  price  paid  being  subjection  to  the  pope. 
But,  even  in  regard  to  the  pope,  the  sturdy  national 
spirit  repeatedly  flashed  forth.  The  clergy  would 
not  attend,  they  refused  to  acknowledge,  councils 


io8      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

in  England,  though  summoned  to  them  in  the 
pope's  name  by  his  legate.  And  kings  would  not 
brook  what  appeared  to  be  interferences.  When 
Alexander  of  Scotland,  entertained  at  York  by 
Henry  III.  of  England,  was  informed  by  a  car- 
dinal that  he  had  been  deputed  by  the  Court  of 
Rome  to  visit  Scotland,  and  to  take  cognisance 
of  its  ecclesiastical  condition,  the  Scottish  king 
replied,  "  I  have  never  seen  a  legate  in  my 
dominions,  and,  as  long  as  I  live,  I  never  will." 
The  cardinal  persisted  in  fulfilling  his  instruc- 
tions, but  the  king  refused  to  see  him,  and, 
"without  leave  asked,"  he  hurriedly  departed.^ 

Such  were  the  expressions  of  the  spirit  of 
nationality  in  the  two  kingdoms  which  now 
happily  form  Great  Britain.  But  the  main 
issue  with  which  we  are  concerned  is,  the  social 
efficiency  of  the  National  Churches,  and  it  will 
be  conceded  that  a  condition  indispensable  to  this 
efficiency  is  a  thorough  system  of  ministration — 
a  division  of  the  country  into  small  areas  or 
territories,  each  provided  with  a  machinery  by 
which,  in  dependence  on  God's  spirit,  the  bless- 
ings of  religion  can  be  diffused,  and  the  aims  of  the 
Christian  society  can  be  realised.  In  the  National 
Churches  of  Great  Britain  there  is  such  a  division, 
and  for  each  of  the  areas  or  territories  of  the  divi- 

^  Cunningham's  Church  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.  p.  162. 


Parochial  Ecojioniy.  1 09 

sion  there  is  a  sustenance,  greater  or  less — an  en- 
dowment for  the  supply  of  Christian  ordinances. 
The  origin  and  growth  of  this  parochial  economy 
is  an  interesting,  and  not  unimportant,  subject. 

In  the  ''land  of  the  long  agos,"  the  parochia  or 
parish  was  equivalent  to  what  in  later  times  was 
called  the  diocese ;  it  was  the  district  which  the 
chief  pastor  ruled.  When  this  was  the  case, 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  common  purse,  re- 
plenished by  the  offerings  of  the  faithful  in  the 
parish,  and  distributed  by  the  bishop  amongst  the 
clergy,  who  were  sent  forth  to  plant  churches, 
and  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom.  These 
offerings  are  related  to  an  ordinance  or  a  custom 
called  the  tithe  or  tenth.  Now,  we  do  not  know 
the  precise  period  at  which  the  tithe,  as  a  religious 
obligation,  was  enforced.  There  are  traces  of  it 
in  the  third  Christian  century,  and  it  was  offici- 
ally recognised  as  a  statutory  Christian  duty  in 
the  fourth  century.^  Charlemagne,  in  788,  gave 
legal  sanction  to  its  collection,  but  this  only  in 
confirmation  of  it  as  authorised  by  the  Word  of 
God.  His  sanction  was  limited  to  the  Prankish 
Empire.  But  the  widespread  acceptance  of  the 
tithe  is  otherwise  evidenced.  Three  years,  for  ex- 
ample, before  Charlemagne's  decree,  legates  from 

^  There  is  evidence  of  it  in  the  treatises  of  St  Ambrose  and  St 
Augustine. 


I  lo     The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

Rome  appeared  in  England  with  twenty-nine  con- 
stitutions or  instructions,  and  one  of  these  contains 
the  words,  "  We  do  solemnly  enjoin  that  all  take 
care  to  pay  the  tenth  of  all  that  they  possess,  be- 
cause that  pecuHarly  belongs  to  God,  and  let  them 
live  and  give  alms  out  of  the  nine  parts."  ^  "  The 
tithe,"  writes  Professor  Freeman,  "can  hardly  be 
said  to  have  been  granted  by  the  State.  The  case 
rather  is,  that  the  Church  preached  the  payment 
of  tithes  as  a  duty,  and  that  the  State  gradually 
came  to  enforce  this  duty  by  legal  sanctions."  ^ 

Before  the  Council  of  Lateran,  1179-80,  the 
tithe  might  be  bestowed,  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
tithe-payer,  on  any  church  or  monastery,  or  it 
might  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  bishop  for 
"  other  pious  purposes  according  to  his  discre- 
tion." But  when  provinces  or  dioceses  were 
divided,  and  the  word  "  parish  "  was  applied  to 
the  separate  divisions,  ''  the  tithes  of  each  parish 
were  allotted  to  its  own  particular  minister,  first 
by  common  consent  or  appointment  of  the  lord  of 
the  manor,  and  afterwards  by  law."^  The  party 
receiving  the  parochial  tithes  was  called  the  rec- 
tor, but   this  party  might  be   either  the  parson 


1  Seldcn's  History  of  Tithes,  chap.  viii. 
'  Freeman,  p.  19. 

2  Digest  of  the  Law  of  Real    Property,  sec.   53  ;    Rlackstone' 
Commentaries,  vol.  i.  p.  112. 


Tithes  and  their  Apportionment.       1 1 1 

serving  the  cure,  who  was  then  the  rector  of  the 
parish,  or  it  might  be  a  monastery  or  a  rehgious 
corporation,  in  which  case  the  minister  serving 
the  cure,  as  the  representative  of  the  monastery 
or  corporation,  was  styled  the  vicar,  and  received 
as  his  stipend  a  portion  of  the  tithes — *'the  small 
tithe,"  as  it  was  called.  There  were  differences 
of  custom  in  the  apportionment  of  the  tithes  in 
different  countries.  In  some,  there  was  a  division 
into  four  parts — one  part  for  the  minister,  one 
part  for  the  poor,  one  part  for  the  church  fabric, 
and  one  part  for  the  bishop.  In  others,  there 
was  a  tripartite  division.  In  others,  again,  the 
bishop  received  all,  and  distributed  the  amount 
as  seemed  good  to  him.  Lord  Selborne  has  shown 
that  such  formal  apportionments  did  not  obtain  in 
England  ;  and  they  did  not  obtain  in  Scotland.^ 

The  beginning  and  the  growth  of  the  parochial 
system,  with  a  provision  for  the  celebration  of 
worship  and  for  the  religious  and  social  work  of 
the  Church,  are  difficult  to  trace.  The  system  was 
more  or  less  in  evidence  at  a  time  long  anterior  to 
any  action  by  the  State.  For  its  origination  we 
are  mainly  indebted  to  the  piety  or  the  supersti- 
tion of  lords  of  manors  and  owners  of  lands. 
**When,"  writes  Selden  as  to  England,  "devo- 
tion grew  firmer,  and  most  laymen  of  fair  estate 

^  Defence  of  the  Church  of  England,  chaps,  vii,,  viii. 


1 1 2      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

desired  the  country  residence  of  some  chaplains 
that  might  be  always  ready  for  Christian  instruc- 
tion among  them,  their  families,  and  adjoining 
tenants,  oratories  and  churches  began  to  be  built 
by  their  orders,  and,  being  hallowed  by  the 
bishop,  were  endowed  with  peculiar  maintenance 
from  the  founders  for  the  incumbents  that  should 
there  only  reside.  Out  of  these  lay  foundations 
chiefly  came  those  kind  of  parishes  which  at  this 
day  are  in  every  diocese ;  their  differences  in 
quantity  being  originally  out  of  the  differences 
of  the  several  circuits  of  the  demesnes  or  terri- 
tories possessed  by  the  founders."-^ 

In  Scotland,  the  process  in  the  formation  of 
parishes  was  similar  to  that  in  the  southern 
kingdom.  There  was  an  ecclesiastical  arrange- 
ment for  generations  before  any  formal  sanction 
was  given  by  the  State.  How  remote  the  date  of 
the  first  ecclesiastical  arrangements  was  may  be 
inferred  from  this,  that,  as  early  as  the  twelfth 
century,  the  lands  devoted  to  the  ministration  of 
religion  or  for  religious  orders  by  the  Scottish 
Crown  were  by  statute  made  subject  to  the 
payment  of  tithes.  "  This  payment,"  observes 
Sheriff  Johnston,  "came  to  be  so  general  that 
the  obligation  gradually  acquired  the  force  of 
law  universally  applicable   to   all   land   through- 

^  History  of  Tithes,  vol.  iii.  chap.  ix. 


Establishment  of  National  Chitrches.      1 1 3 

out  the  country  without   inquiry  into  past  dedi- 
cation or  reservation."  ^ 

Thus,  the  parochial  economy  of  the  National 
Churches  of  Great  Britain  was  consoHdated  and 
established.  Our  condemnation  of  the  middle 
ages  as  being  dark  and  dreary  may  be  qualified 
by  the  recollection,  that  we  are  indebted  to  the 
piety  (however  at  many  points  misinformed)  and 
the  liberality  of  men  who  lived  in  them  for  insti- 
tutions that  have  largely  contributed  to  the  mak- 
ing of  the  English  and  Scottish  peoples.  And, 
with  reference  to  these  institutions,  it  is  well — in 
view  of  statements  which  are  persistently  made — 
to  be  reminded  that  they  were  not,  and  are  not, 
mere  State  Churches.  They  were  not  created 
by  the  State.  They  are  not  departments  of  the 
State.  Public  law  only  confirmed  them  in  the 
position  which  they  occupied,  antecedently  to  any 
legal  recognition,  as  the  branches  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  in  the  realms.  At  the  Reformation  of 
the  Church  in  the  sixteenth  century,  no  novel 
framework  was  introduced.  The  old  framework, 
lightened  of  some  of  its  objectionable  features, 
was  continued  under  altered  circumstances. 
There  were  8467  parishes  in  England  when 
King  Henry  VIII.  severed  the  connexion  of  the 
English   Church  with  the   Roman    See.      These 

1  Handbook  of  Scottish  Church  Defence,  p.  177. 
H 


1 1 4      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

parishes  remained  as  they  had  been,  though 
they  were  afterwards  modified.  In  Scotland, 
there  were  940  parishes :  they  were  also  con- 
tinued, though  at  a  later  date  they,  too,  were 
modified.  And  each  parish  possessed  an  en- 
dowment, not  out  of  a  common  fund,  not  in 
consequence  of  any  general  tax,  but  an  endow- 
ment belonging  to  itself,  the  fruit  of  the  tithes 
of  a  past  age,  which  the  civil  magistrate  had 
secured  in  permanent  form  for  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  service  of  the  people. 


m 


CHAPTER    Vil. 

NATIONAL    REFORMED    CHURCHES — THE    CHURCH 
OF    SCOTLAND. 

The  effect  of  the  great  ecclesiastical  upheaval  in 
the  sixteenth  century  on  the  development  of 
national  life,  and  of  a  national  spirit  in  Christen- 
dom, was  far-reaching.  In  its  nobler  aspect,  this 
upheaval  marked  an  endeavour  after  re-formation 
— that  is,  the  forming  of  the  Church  back  on  the 
lines  indicated  in  the  New  Testament.  The  Pro- 
testers felt  that  ''what  is  first  is  best,"  that  it  is 
a  more  exact  interpretation  of  the  ideal.  They 
did  not  question  the  progression  of  thought,  but 
they  held  that  the  progression  had  been  diverted 
from  its  legitimate  course,  by  the  growth  of  the 
hierarchical  spirit,  by  the  importation  into  Chris- 
tianity of  elements  that  were  alien  to  it,  and  by 
the  corruption  of  the  simplicity  of  Christ  through 
the  dogmas,  practices,  and  ramifications  of  the 
Papacy.      Therefore,   from    the    Cassar  of  Rome 


I T  6      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chtcrch. 

they  appealed  to  the  Lord  and  King  of  souls,  and 
to  His  voice  in  the  Word  that  is  inspired  and 
illumined  by  His  Spirit. 

It  was  an  appeal  fraught  with  manifold  danger. 
Withdrawing  the  mediation  of  priest  and  Church, 
setting  the  individual  in  direct  relation  with  God, 
and  bidding  him  "  prove  all  things  and  hold  fast 
that  which  is  good,"  it  was  apt  to  foster  an 
individualism  which  easily  degenerated  into 
anarchy.  In  point  of  fact,  this  anarchical  licence 
was  one  of  the  shadows  that  continually  stole 
across  the  track  of  the  Reformation,  and  that  it 
required  all  the  skill  and  the  courage  of  its  leaders 
to  counteract.  Moreover,  the  conception  of  the 
unity  of  the  Church  was  rudely  disturbed.  The 
authority  of  Rome  and  its  bishop  was  flouted. 
In  the  view  of  those  who  broke  away  from  the 
Papacy,  there  was  no  longer  any  one  visible 
centre ;  and  Christian  communities,  reflecting 
the  separations  and  jealousies  of  the  nations  to 
which  they  ministered,  became,  or  were  in  peril 
of  becoming,  self-centred.  An  interesting  letter 
of  Calvin,  containing  his  reply  to  an  invitation  of 
Archbishop  Cranmer  to  attend  a  council  in 
London  for  the  promotion  of  unity,  indicates  the 
extent  of  the  isolating  tendency  in  his  day,  and 
the  sorrow  with  which  he  regarded  it.  *'  The 
body   of  Christ,"    he   writes,    "  is   torn    asunder 


The  Fellowship  of  Reformed  Churches.     1 1 7 

because  the  members  are  separated.  So  far  as  I 
am  concerned,  if  I  can  be  of  any  use,  I  will 
readily  pass  over  ten  seas  to  effect  the  object  in 
view."  ^ 

Another  kind  of  centre  than  the  visible  centre 
of  the  Latin  Church  was  necessary.  The  Re- 
formed Churches  declared  that  this  centre  is  in 
heaven  and  heavenly,  not  on  earth  and  earthly. 
They  maintained  that  it  is  the  living  Christ 
Himself,  the  Head  of  the  body.  Who  filleth 
all  in  all.  In  so  far  as  human  expressions  of 
this  invisible  omnipresence  are  concerned,  they 
found  a  witness  for  unity  in  the  consensus  of 
testimony  presented  in  the  symbols  of  the  Re- 
formed Churches ;  and  they  promoted  the  sense 
of  unity  by  interchanges  of  thought  between 
Universities  and  Churches.  "  The  catholicity  of 
the  Reformation,"  observes  Dr  Merle  d'Aubigne, 
*'  is  a  noble  feature  in  its  character.  The  Ger- 
mans pass  into  Switzerland,  the  French  into 
Germany,  in  later  times  men  from  England 
and  Scotland  pass  over  to  the  Continent,  and 
doctors  from   the   Continent  into   Great  Britain. 

^  "  This  is  to  be  ranked  among  the  chief  evils  of  our  time — that 
the  Churches  are  so  divided  that  human  fellowship  is  scarcely  now 
in  any  repute  amongst  us,  far  less  that  Christian  intercourse  which 
all  make  a  profession  of,  but  few  sincerely  practise." — Letters  of 
John  Calvin,  vol.  ii.  pp.  332,  333.  Henry's  Life  of  Calvin,  vol.  ii. 
p.  126, 


1 1 8      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chttrch. 

The  Reformers,  in  the  different  countries,  spring 
up  almost  independently  of  each  other;  but  no 
sooner  are  they  born  than  they  hold  out  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship.  There  is  among  them 
one  sole  faith,  one  spirit,  one  Lord.  It  has 
been  an  error,  in  our  opinion,  to  write  the 
history  of  the  Reformation  for  a  single  country. 
The  work  is  one,  and  from  their  origin  the 
Protestant  Churches  form  a  whole  body  fitly 
joined  together."  ^ 

The  consciousness  of  a  higher  and  all-com- 
prehending unity  is  evidenced  in  the  standards, 
as  in  the  action,  of  Reformed  Churches  in  the 
earlier  period  of  their  history.  No  country  was 
more  subject  to  isolating  influences  than  Scot- 
land, yet  there  is  the  vision  of  a  communion  not 
restricted  by  national  limits,  in  the  Second  Book 
of  Discipline.  After  enumerating  several  kinds  of 
assemblies,  its  compilers  add,  "  There  is  besides 
these  another  more  general  kind  of  assembly, 
which  is  of  all  nations  and  estates  of  persons 
within  the  Kirk,  representing  the  universal  Kirk 
of  Christ,  which  may  be  called  properly  the 
General  Assembly  or  General  Council  of  the 
whole  Kirk  of  God."  Nevertheless,  the  cen- 
trifugal  tendency   was   stronger    than    the    cen- 

^  Quoted  in  discussion  on  Consensus  of  Reformed  Confessions. 
First  General  Presbyterian  Council. 


Aspirations  for  Reunion.  1 1 9 

tripetal.  The  Anglican  Church,  by  taking  a 
via  media  between  the  Latin  Church  and  the 
Reformed  Churches,  and  by  the  transference 
of  its  headship  from  the  pope  to  the  EngHsh 
sovereign,  detached  itself  from  the  fellowship  of 
the  bodies  to  which,  by  the  doctrine  of  its 
thirty-nine  Articles,  it  was  akin,  and  it  became 
more  and  more  exclusively  national.  Other 
Churches  went  their  several  ways,  bestowing 
only  an  occasional  glance  at  each  other.  The 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  witnessed 
a  quickening  of  the  pulses  towards  unity,  and 
the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  century  has  been 
marked  by  striking  practical  expressions  of  the 
desire  to  reduce  divisions,  and  by  aspirations, 
finding  utterance  in  unexpected  quarters,  for  the 
reunion  of  Christendom.  How  these  aspirations 
can  be  realised,  it  seems  impossible  to  forecast; 
but  Christian  people  can  at  least  wait  on  God, 
and  join  in  the  pra3^er,  "  The  Lord  hasten  it  in 
His  time." 

The  influence  of  the  National  Churches  of  the 
Continent,  and  of  the  British  Isles,  is  too  vast 
a  subject  for  the  survey  that  can  be  made  in 
this  chapter.  We  must  limit  this  survey  to 
Scotland,  and  the  inquiry  to  which  we  are  in- 
vited   is,    How   far    its    National    Church,    Pro- 


I20     The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

testant  and  Reformed,  was,  in  the  past,  equipped 
for  its  ministry  ?  And,  How  far  it  has  fulfilled 
and  is  fulfilling  its  ministry  to  the  social  life 
of  the  nation  ? 

At  the  time  when  it  started  on  its  "dim  and 
perilous  way"  the  condition  of  the  Scottish  people 
was  deplorable.  Long  and  bitter  warfare  with 
its  southern  neighbour  and  enemy  had  drained 
the  resources  of  the  country,  and  had  spilt  the 
best  blood  of  its  manhood.  The  factions  of  its 
nobles,  the  feuds  of  its  clans,  the  struggles 
between  the  Crown  and  the  feudal  lords,  had 
injured  the  arts  which  can  flourish  only  in 
peace,  had  retarded  every  civilising  influence, 
and,  from  Maidenkirk  to  John-o'-Groat's,  had 
written  mourning,  lamentation,  and  woe  over 
the  life  of  the  nation.  If  now  and  again  there 
was  a  streak  as  of  morning  light,  gloomy  night- 
shadows  speedily  obscured  it.  When  James  V. 
died,  leaving  his  crown  to  a  mere  infant,  there 
was  no  strong  arm  or  will  to  control  and  guide, 
and,  during  the  regency  of  his  widow,  the 
situation  became  ever  more  complicated.  The 
Church  was  unable  either  to  promote  liberty  or 
to  secure  order.  Its  service  for  good  was  a 
thing  of  the  past.  There  was  still  an  apparatus 
of  learning  and  of  benevolence.  It  had  founded 
the  universities  of  St  Andrews,  Glasgow,  and 
Aberdeen,  and  they  were  shedding  a  feeble  light 


Scotland,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation.    1 2 1 

on  the  surrounding  darkness.  It  had  established 
hospitals ;  at  the  Reformation,  there  were  eighty- 
three,  providing  for  the  aged,  the  infirm,  and 
lepers,  and  sometimes  serving  the  purpose  of 
hostels  for  pilgrims  and  travellers.^  No  doubt, 
too,  there  were  good  and  pious  souls  in  the 
priesthood  who  sought  the  welfare  of  their 
flocks.  But  all  testimony  proves  that  the  state 
of  the  Church  was  incurably  bad.  The  whole 
aspect  of  the  kingdom,  when  Mary  Stewart  re- 
turned from  France  and  assumed  the  task  of 
government,  was  grim  and  stern.  All  social 
circumstances  were  unfavourable  to  kindlier 
graces.  The  constant  fight  with  an  ungenial 
climate,  and  the  barrenness  of  much  of  the  soil — 
large  tracts  of  it  being  mountainous,  and  bring- 
ing forth  only  ''brown  heath  and  shaggy  wood," 
and  mere  patches  of  the  productive  Lowlands 
being  cultivated  (even  these,  through  the  want 
of  right  agricultural  methods,  imperfectly  culti- 
vated)— made  life  to  multitudes  a  weary  struggle, 
and  encouraged  sullen  moods  and  morose  tempers. 
Manners  were  coarse.  The  nobles  and  gentry 
were  illiterate.  They  had  vast  estates,  but 
their  rentals  were  small.  They  had  difficulty  in 
maintaining  their  families,  and  feeding  their  re- 
tainers. Some  of  them  supported  the  cause  of 
the  Reformers,  because  they  saw  in  its  success 

^  Wallcott's  Ancient  Church  of  Scotland,  p.  384. 


1 2  2      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

a  prospect  of  enrichment  out  of  the  spoils  of 
the  Church.  Perhaps,  they  were  not  worse  than 
their  Enghsh  neighbours ;  and  their  temptation 
was  greater.  Greedy  barons?  Yes,  but  they 
were  very  poor. 

To  build  up  a  religious  and  prosperous  nation 
out  of  such  material  was  a  task  of  surpassing 
magnitude.  The  material  largely  determined 
the  constitution  of  the  Kirk.  In  England,  the 
movement  for  reformation  was  promoted  from 
the  head  downwards,  and,  to  a  large  extent, 
the  Church  retained  its  ancient  aspect.  In 
Scotland,  it  began  nearer  the  base ;  it  was 
opposed  by  the  head  of  the  State ;  and  the 
Church  reflected  the  popular  mind.  If  the 
Genevan  model  was  adopted,  it  was  because 
that  suited  the  temper  of  the  people.  Many  of 
the  nobles  were  willing  enough  that  it  should 
be  so,  since  it  allowed  the  more  to  pass  into 
their  coffers.  On  the  one  side  of  the  shield 
was  blazoned  Democracy,  on  the  other  Theo- 
cracy;  the  latter  mirroring  an  element  never  to 
be  overlooked  in  estimating  the  Scottish  char- 
acter— the  element  of  ideality.^  The  two  sides 
of    the   shield    have   always    been    conspicuous ; 

1  "The  very  greed  of  the  nobles,"  writes  Mr  Andrew  Lang 
('History  of  Scotland,'  vol.  i.  p.  423),  "by  starving  the  new 
establishment,  made  it  democratic  in  tendency,  while  the  adoption 


Presbyterian  Constihttion  of  the  Church.    123 

their  union  marks  the  perfervidtim  ingenium  Scot- 
orum.  And  the  two  were  in  evidence  in  that 
first  Assembly  of  the  Reformed  Kirk  in  1560, 
which  was  composed  of  six  ministers  and  thirty- 
four  elders. 

The  Church  thus  constituted  did  not  include 
all  the  constituents  of  the  Reformed  nationality ; 
and,  during  the  seventeenth  century,  there  was 
conflict,  with  varying  result,  between  it  and 
the  excluded  Episcopalian  constituent.  But,  un- 
doubtedly, the  main  current  of  Scottish  life  flowed 
through  the  Presbyterianism  which  finally  pre- 
vailed. How  far  this  Presbyterianism  succeeded 
in  its  social  mission,  is  writ  large  in  the  history  of 
three  centuries.  Much  more  might  have  been 
accomplished  for  the  intellectual  and  social  well- 
being  of  Scotland,  if  the  wealth  of  the  unreformed 
Church  had  been  diverted  into  channels  of  public 
utility.  That  wealth  had  been  enormous ;  before 
1560  it  amounted  to  a  half  of  the  entire  wealth  of 

by  Scotland  of  the  republican  theocracy  of  Geneva  made  the  Kirk 
democratic  in  constitution." 

"But,"  replies  Principal  Fairbairn  (' Edinburi^h  Review,'  January 
1901),  "it  would  be  nearer  the  truth  to  say  that  the  constitution 
determined  the  tendency  and  was  determined  more  by  the  national 
history  and  conditions  than  by  Geneva.  .  .  .  Three  local  conditions 
were  friendly  to  a  democratic  Church— (i)  The  want  of  a  royal  per- 
son to  appeal  to  the  popular  imagination  ;  (2)  the  want  of  a  single 
governing  will  to  command  the  rising  storm  ;  (3)  the  need  of  an 
order  that  would  secure  liberty  and  law  for  the  people." 


124     The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chtwch. 

the  country.  But  there  is  nothing  more  pathetic 
than  the  battle  over  it  between  John  Knox  and 
the  disinterested  Reformers,  and  the  nobihty  and 
lairds,  the  interested  Reformers.  The  latter  were 
willing  to  pass  Confessions  of  Faith,  and  even  to 
do  combat  for  the  purged  Kirk,  so  long  as  they 
were  enriched  out  of  the  resources  of  the  un- 
purged  Kirk.  But  with  these  they  would  not 
part.  If  they  had  been  devoted  to  the  three 
purposes  for  which  Knox  and  his  coadjutors  con- 
tended— the  sustenance  of  the  ministry,  the  edu- 
cation of  the  youth  in  parish  schools,  grammar- 
schools,  and  colleges,  and  the  relief  of  the  poor — 
the  tale  told  in  succeeding  periods  would  have 
been  a  different  tale.  Only  a  third  of  the  thirds 
of  the  benefices  in  the  kingdom  was  secured  for 
the  parochial  ministry  of  the  Church. 

But,  slender  though  its  means  were,  the  Church 
set  its  face  bravely  to  the  work  committed  to  it. 
It  is  not  relevant  to  this  review  to  follow  its  en- 
deavours, or  to  trace  its  developments,  through 
the  storms  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
only  point  to  be  noted,  as  bearing  on  the  in- 
fluence which  it  exerted  on  national  character, 
is  the  ideality  already  referred  to :  evidenced, 
for  example,  in  the  attitude  of  the  Scottish  army 
led  by  Alexander  Leslie, — ever  resolutely  hold- 
ing  aloft   the   three   words,  Christ,   Crown,  and 


The  Covenanters,  r  2  5 

Covenant,  and  still  more  fully  evidenced  in 
those  killing  days,  the  remembrance  of  which 
can  never  fade  from  the  Scottish  consciousness. 
Whatever  men  may  think  of  the  cause  of  the 
Covenanters,  there  is  an  unmistakable  moral 
grandeur  in  the  spectacle  of  men,  dignified  in 
their  poverty  by  the  conviction  of  an  infinite 
possession  in  Christ  and  His  crown,  living  a 
life  to  which  the  world  gave  nothing,  but  which 
they  felt  to  be  filled  out  of  the  fulness  of  God, 
and,  for  the  sake  of  a  treasure  that  they  esteemed 
better  than  thousands  of  gold  and  silver, — for 
God's  kingdom  in  their  Scotland,  —  enduring 
persecution  and  death  itself.  And  this  moral 
heroism,  this  lofty  ideality,  was  the  fruit  of  the 
faith  which  the  Kirk  they  loved  nourished  within 
them. 

Taking  what,  in  ecclesiastical  phrase,  is  called 
a  conjunct  view,  the  work  of  the  Scottish  Church 
in  the  development  of  Scottish  social  life  is 
the  resultant  of  its  fourfold  action  :  First,  the 
Ministry  of  the  Word  and  sacraments  in  every 
part  of  the  land,  through  a  stated  and  endowed 
pastorate,  responsible  for  all  within  the  area  of 
the  parish.  Second,  the  exercise  of  discipline  by 
minister  and  session,  — a  discipline  which  those 
who  look  back  on  the  seventeenth  and  eigh- 
teenth centuries,   in  the  light  of  the   twentieth. 


126      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

may  regard  as  harsh  and  stern,  but  as  to  which 
we  may  recollect,  that  the  times  needed  firm 
moral  testimony,  and  that  what  was  meted  out 
was  meted  out  impartially  to  peer  and  to  peasant. 
Third,  the  work  of  the  Church  in  supervising  the 
instruction  of  the  young  in  the  parish  schools 
(and  there  is  no  more  honourable  feature  in  its 
record  than  this).  And,  finally,  the  stimulation 
and  organisation  of  useful  and  beneficent  social 
effort  of  many  kinds.  Besides  all  this,  there 
are  services  which  cannot  be  classified ;  services 
promotive  of  goodwill  man  to  man,  of  union,  of 
co-operation,  of  relief  from  monotonies  of  con- 
dition, of  help  in  respect  of  all  that  touches  the 
springs  and  principles  of  conduct.  It  cannot, 
indeed,  be  said  that  this  social  ideal  has  been 
reahsed  in  all  parishes;  for  there  have  ever  been, 
and  ever  will  be,  manifold  and  often  grievous 
shortcomings.  But  the  Church  cannot  be  said 
to  have  missed  its  mark  of  light  that  for  long 
generations  has  mediated  between  rich  and  poor, 
high  and  low ;  that  has  nourished  in  the  homes 
of  the  Scottish  peasantry  a  dignity,  a  moral  ele- 
vation, a  piety,  such  as  that  which  Robert  Burns, 
drawing  on  his  own  memory,  has  immortalised  in 
the  ''  Cottar's  Saturday  Night " ;  that  has  based 
the  education  of  millions  of  souls  on  the  answer 
which  gives  the  key-word  to  its  practical  teaching, 


Influence  of  the  Scottish  Chmxh.       127 

'*  Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God,  and  to  enjoy 
Him  for  ever." 

Let  a  witness  speak  to  whose  testimony  no 
suspicion  of  an  ecclesiastical  bias  can  attach. 
A  Select  Parliamentary  Committee,  in  its  re- 
port to  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  placed  on 
record  the  following  judgment:  ''No  sentiment 
has  been  more  deeply  impressed  upon  the  minds 
of  your  Committee,  in  the  course  of  their  long 
and  laborious  investigations,  than  that  of  ven- 
eration and  respect  for  the  Established  Church 
of  Scotland.  They  believe  that  no  institution 
has  ever  existed  which,  at  so  little  cost,  has 
accomplished  so  much  good.  The  eminent  place 
which  Scotland  holds  in  the  scale  of  nations  is 
mainly  owing  to  the  purity  of  the  standards  and 
the  zeal  of  the  ministers  of  its  Church,  as  well 
as  to  the  wisdom  with  which  its  internal  in- 
stitutions have  been  adapted  to  the  habits  and 
interests  of  the  people."^ 

Any  hindrance  to  the  utility  of  such  an  in- 
stitution is  a  matter  of  concern  to  all  who 
desire  that  the  social  life  of  the  country  shall 
be  permeated  by  a  religious  spirit.  And  one 
such  hindrance  was  occasioned  by  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  population  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 

^  Report  of  Select  Committee  on  Patronage,  p.  4. 


128      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Chiirch. 

tury.  Districts  hitherto  sparsely  occupied  were, 
on  a  sudden,  crowded  with  tenements  for  the 
accommodation  of  millworkers  or  miners.  Rural 
districts  were  depleted,  cities  became  congested. 
New  social  states  were  created  with  which  the 
National  Church,  under  its  statutory  provision, 
was  unable  to  cope.  One  symptom  of  the  revived 
energy  of  the  Church,  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 
last  century,  was  the  perception  of  the  need  of 
a  fuller  agency  to  secure  the  ordinances  of  the 
Church  for  the  increasing  thousands.  We  recall 
the  zeal  with  which  Dr  Chalmers  knocked  at 
the  doors  of  the  Legislature,  only  to  find  that 
the  doors  would  not  open  to  his  appeal.  We 
recall  the  fervour  with  which  he  and  others, 
abandoning  hope  of  aid  from  Government,  set 
about  the  work  of  church-building  and  parochial 
subdivision — a  work  that  was  crowned  with  a 
success  which  the  Disruption  of  1843  inter- 
rupted. On  this  event,  so  far-reaching  in  its 
consequences,  in  political  and  social  as  well  as 
ecclesiastical  spheres,  there  is  no  need  to  make 
any  pronouncement.  All  that  need  now  be  said 
is,  that  it  secured  a  vast  addition  to  churches 
and  religious  machinery,  whose  distribution  was 
to  a  large  extent  in  line  with  the  ancient  divi- 
sion of  parishes.  Indeed,  to  their  honour  be  it 
said,  some  of  the  most   splendid  illustrations  of 


Professor  Jmnes  Robertson.  129 

the  efficiency  of  the  territorial  principle  have 
been  supplied  by  ministers  and  congregations 
of  non-conforming  Churches.  But  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  Established  Church,  as  the  cus- 
todian of  the  national  parochial  economy  in  its 
integrity,  remained ;  and  the  discharge  of  this 
responsibility,  in  the  crippled  condition  of  the 
Church,  and  having  regard  to  the  altered  features 
and  the  complexities  of  the  modern  era,  seemed 
all  but  hopeless. 

Facilities  for  rearranging  the  bounds  of  par- 
ishes, for  the  provision  of  endowments  for  new 
parishes,  and  for  their  possession  of  a  parochial 
status  quoad  sacra,  were  afforded  by  an  Act  of 
the  Legislature  known  as  Sir  James  Graham's 
Act.  But,  between  1843  and  1854,  these  facilities 
were  taken  advantage  of  in  the  erection  of  only 
thirty  parishes  which  were  chiefly  in  wealthier 
residential  centres.  Impatient  of  this  slow  pro- 
gress, Professor  James  Robertson  launched  his 
provincial  scheme,  in  which  he  aimed  at  rais- 
ing a  fund  of  -£*40,ooo  in  each  of  the  five  pro- 
vinces into  which  the  country  was  divided,  as 
a  fund  to  supplement  local  efforts  for  the  en- 
dowment of  chapels  within  these  provinces.  A 
man  of  indomitable  courage  and  of  wonderful 
faith  in  the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  a 
man,    too,    with    wide    social    sympathies, — he 

I 


130      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

infused  his  own  enthusiasm,  his  own  broad- 
minded  zeal,  into  the  movement  that  he  led. 
How  vividly  do  those  who  rallied  around  him 
in  the  inauguration  of  that  movement,  and  yet 
survive, — for,  alas !  the  greater  part  is  fallen  on 
sleep, — recollect  the  glowing,  if  often  the  lengthy, 
utterances  of  the  noble-hearted  churchman  !  The 
note  on  which  all  the  changes  were  rung  was 
the  call  to  identify  the  Church  with  the  needs 
and  aspirations  of  the  nation.  If  he  spoke  on 
behalf  of  the  Church,  it  was  because,  in  his  own 
words,  "  if  it  falls,  no  other  Church  can  be 
established  in  its  place ;  and  in  this  case  the 
social  regeneration  essential  to  the  best  interests 
of  society  must  be  abandoned  as  hopeless."  ^ 
But  his  outlook  w^as  beyond  the  ecclesiastical 
pale.  "The  welfare  of  society,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  tends  more  and  more,  by  an  irresistible  im- 
pulse, over  which  legislation  can  exert  but  little 
control,  to  suspend  itself  on  the  significance 
attached  to  man  as  man."-  It  was  the  cause 
of  man  which  he  advocated,  and  to  despair  of 
it,  he  protested,  was  "to  despair  of  the  faith- 
fulness of  God."  And  so  he  laboured  until — 
his  most  sanguine  hopes  having  been  surpassed 
— death  released  him  from  his  toil.  Through 
his   endeavours,    and   those   of  the   like  -  minded 

^  Life  of  Dr  James  Robertson,  p.  329.  "^  Ibid.,  p.  238. 


Increased  Social  Activity  of  the  Chui^ch.     1 3 1 

men  who  supported  him,  and  succeeded  him  in 
the  management  of  the  Endowment  Scheme,  408 
parishes  can  be  reckoned  as  having  been  added 
to  the  economy  of  the  National  Church,  con- 
taining "  a  population  of  one  and  a  half  million, 
almost  as  great  as  that  of  Scotland  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century." 

In  other  ways,  increased  momentum  has  been 
given  to  the  service  of  the  Church.  Home 
missions,  under  the  guidance  of  wise  and  elo- 
quent conveners,  have  developed  elasticities  in 
method,  as  well  as  extensions  of  building.  The 
guardianship  of  schools  has  been  transferred  from 
the  Church  to  the  community  in  its  civil  aspect ; 
but  in  her  own  sphere,  through  Sunday-schools, 
boys'  brigades,  and  other  organisations,  she  has 
an  arm — it  should  be  a  long  and  a  strong  arm — 
to  reach  to  the  youth  of  the  country.  And,  ad- 
vancing from  this,  there  are  circles  of  effort — 
guilds,  fellowships,  unions  of  many  kinds  — 
through  which  the  Christian  life  acts  on  all  the 
social  surrounding.  We  cannot  omit  the  dis- 
covery, or  re-discovery,  of  woman  as  having  a 
distinct  vocation  in  the  ministry  of  the  Church. 
The  deaconess  and  the  parish  sister  have  now 
their  place  and  service.  All  effort,  evangelistic 
or  social,  has  been  amplified,  with  a  view  to 
the     comprehension     in     sympathetic     Christian 


1 3  2      The  Social  Vocation  of  the  Church. 

work    of   the    shifting    and    manifold    phases    of 
society. 

What,  it  may  be  asked,  is  the  result  of  all  the 
activity  ?  The  answer  to  this  question  will  be  in 
great  part  determined  by  individual  temperament, 
and  by  the  position  in  regard  to  the  Church 
that  is  assumed.  The  more  sanguine  in  dispos- 
ition will  fasten  on  all  hopeful  symptoms,  and 
argue  from  them  that  there  is  an  advance  towards 
better  averages,  and  fuller  measures  of  social 
good,  along  the  whole  line  of  society.  The  more 
keenly  critical  disposition  will  challenge  some  of 
the  alleged  evidences  of  progress,  and  hint  that 
*'  reversion  is  ever  dragging  evolution  in  the 
mud."  An  ecclesiastical  statistician  will  present 
elaborate  tables  of  figures  as  proving  that,  though 
Churches  toil,  the  churchless  increase  ;  that  the 
signs  of  the  alienation  of  masses  from  the  Church 
have  assumed  alarming  proportions,  and  menace 
the  Christian  life  of  the  nation.  Another,  setting 
the  question  of  church  attendances  aside,  will 
point  to  the  broader  channels  of  sympathy  among 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  to  the  higher 
aims  and  levels  of  action  in  even  the  humblest 
ranks,  to  the  increasing  urgency  of  the  demand 
for  better  homes  and  for  all  that  makes  better 
lives,  as  proving  that,  though  the  Church  as 
such    may   have   less   visibility,   the    Christianity 


The  Ideal  of  Pai^ochial  Ministry.       1 3 3 

of  Christ  has  more.  The  truth  may  He  in  the 
mean  between  a  confident  optimism  and  a  croak- 
ing pessimism.  There  is  enough  to  make  us 
thank  God  and  take  courage.  There  is  enough, 
also,  to  bid  us  "  be  not  high-minded  but  fear." 
But,  whatever  may  be  the  complexion  of  our 
thought  as  to  the  effect  of  the  Church  on  the 
moral  and  social  tone  of  the  nation,  the  work 
to  be  done  with  all  our  might  is  to  purify  the 
springs  of  wellbeing,  the  home  and  the  home-life, 
to  make  brighter  and  healthier  zones  for  the  in- 
dividual units  of  mankind,  and,  in  so  doing,  to 
develop  the  constituents  of  a  virtuous  and  pros- 
perous community.  This  is  the  duty,  this  marks 
the  opportunity,  of  a  National  Church.  Dr 
Chalmers  opposed  "  a  mere  process  of  attrac- 
tion"  to  "a  process  of  emanation";^  and  more 
effectual,  he  urged,  is  the  latter  process.  That 
process  is  the  ideal  of  the  parochial  ministry ; 
its  work  is  to  radiate  Christ's  Gospel,  in  its 
message  of  reconciliation,  goodwill,  and  love,  on 
the  locality  which  is  the  scene  of  its  influence. 
In  the  measure  in  which  it  is  faithful  to  this, 
shall  it  bless  and  be  blest. 

^  "  People  will  not  be  drawn  in  such  abundance  to  Christianity 
by  a  mere  process  of  attraction,  as  Christianity  can  be  made  to 
radiate  upon  them  by  a  process  of  emanation." — Christian  and 
Civic  Economy  of  Large  Towns,  p.   115. 


PART    II. 

PRESENT-DAY    PROBLEMS    AND 
CHURCH    ATTITUDES. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

PRESENT-DAY    PROBLEMS  :    POPULATION    AND 
PAUPERISM. 

In  the  previous  part  of  this  volume,  the  action  of 
the  Church  on  social  life  has  been  regarded  from 
three  points.  First,  from  that  of  its  vocation,  as 
interpreted  by  the  Founder  of  Christianity  in  His 
teaching  and  in  His  sacrifice,  and  as  reflected 
in  the  consciousness  of  those  who  take  His  yoke 
upon  them  and  learn  of  Him.^  Second,  from 
that  of  its  history,  in  its  period  of  struggle  with 
the  power  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  with  the 
ancient  heathenisms  which  the  Empire  protected, 
in  its  period  of  triumph  when  the  kingdoms  of  the 
once  hostile  world  became  "  the  kingdom  of  the 
Lord  and  of  His  Christ,"  and  in  the  ages  during 
which  it  gradually  estabhshed  a  common  type  of 
manners  and  morals  in  Europe,  and  determined 
the    higher   elements   of   European    civilisation.^ 

1  Chapters  II.  and  III.  '^  Chapters  IV.  and  V. 


138  Pre  sent- Day  Problems. 

Finally,  from  that  of  its  relation  to  national  de- 
velopments, and  the  influence  which,  through  its 
characteristic  institutions  and  ordinances,  it  exer- 
cised on  national  temperament  and  wellbeing. 
In  this  last  regard,  our  special  survey  was  limited 
to  Scotland  and  its  National  Church.^ 

Now,  we  change  our  venue.  The  beginning  of 
a  new  century  reminds  us  of  forces  that  are  no 
longer  guided  or  controlled  by  the  Church,  some 
of  which,  indeed,  either  ignore  it  or  express  an- 
tagonism, more  or  less  overt,  to  it ;  of  facts  and 
phenomena  that  challenge  attention  and  raise 
the  question,  How,  having  regard  to  them  and 
the  life-conditions  which  they  connote,  is  society 
to  be  elevated,  and  are  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
His  righteousness  to  be  realised  ?  "  There  is  no 
social  problem,"  it  has  been  said ;  "  there  are 
social  problems."  These  problems — the  subject- 
matter  of  the  pages  that  follow — are  many  and 
serious. 

A  connecting-link  between  the  portion  of  our 
study  on  which  we  enter  and  that  which  precedes 
may  be  found  in  the  reference,  made  in  the  last 
chapter,  to  the  rapid  increase  of  the  population  in 
Great  Britain,  as  constituting  one  of  the  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  an  efficient  discharge  of  the  respon- 

1  Chapters  VI.  and  VII. 


The  Increase  of  the  Population.       139 

sibilities  of  the  National  Churches.  The  pros- 
pect suggested  by  this  increase  is,  to  many  minds, 
alarming.  From  time  to  time,  calculations  are 
presented  which,  assuming  that  the  ratio  of  the 
increase  will  be  in  the  future  what  it  has  been 
in  the  last  fifty  years,  set  before  us  such  develop- 
ments as  the  following — That  two  centuries  and 
a  half  hence,  Europe  alone  will  contain  a  popula- 
tion equal  to  that  of  the  entire  globe  to-day;^ 
that  a  century  hence,  London  will  contain  not  far 
from  forty  millions  of  souls ;  ^  that  other  large 
cities,  all  the  world  over,  will  be  proportionally 
multiplied — and  so  forth.  Now,  whilst  we  set 
such  forecasts  aside  as  merely  ingenious  specula- 
tions, we  cannot  but  feel  that  increasing  densities 
of  population  create  issues,  or  must  precipitate 
issues,  which  no  wise  man  will  overlook.  Malthus 
has  argued  that  the  tendency  is  to  a  multiplication 
of  human  beings  beyond  the  means  of  subsistence  ; 
and,  in  connexion  with  his  argument,  we  are  fre- 
quently reminded  that  the  earth's  stock  of  life- 
supporting  substances  is  limited,  and  that  some 
of  these  are  diminishing.  Moreover,  it  is  urged 
that  certain  influences  essential  to  vigorous  vitality 
— e.g.^  pure  fresh  air  and  wholesome  surroundings 
— must  be  impaired  by  a  prodigious  augmentation 

^  North  American  Review,  November  1892. 
2  Modern  Cities.     By  S.  L.  Loomis. 


140  Present- Day  Problems. 

of  people  to  be  fed,  clothed,  and  maintained,  in- 
volving, as  this  must  involve,  a  prodigious  aug- 
mentation of  industries  of  all  kinds,  with  all 
their  inevitable  concomitants,  the  effect  of  which 
will  be  to  exhaust  and  foul  the  atmosphere,  and 
make  the  land  one  vast  noisy  city,  under  a  cover- 
let of  smoke. 

There  is  no  call  to  give  too  much  heed  to  this 
kind  of  prophesying.  When  the  diminution  of 
the  earth's  resources  is  emphasised,  it  may  be 
replied  that,  probably,  many  of  these  resources 
have  not  yet  been  tapped,  and  that,  with  more 
labour,  and  more  scientifically  organised  and 
applied  labour,  the  capabilities  of  the  soil  may 
be  indefinitely  expanded.^  We  cannot  set  any 
limit  to  the  possibilities  of  nature  and  of  art, 
and  we  may  believe  that  each  successive  period, 
developing  its  special  burdens,  will  develop  also 
the  means  by  which  these  burdens  can  be  met. 
New  necessities  make  new  ingenuities,  new  fer- 

^  Prince  Krapotkin  (in  the  'Nineteenth  Century')  writes:  "If 
the  population  in  this  country  came  to  be  doubled,  all  that  would 
be  required  for  producing  the  food  for  70,000,000  inhabitants  would 
be  to  cultivate  the  soil  as  it  is  cultivated  in  the  best  farms  of  this 
country,  in  Lombardy,  and  in  Flanders,  and  to  cultivate  the  meadows 
which  at  present  lie  almost  unproductive  around  the  big  cities,  in 
the  same  way  as  the  neighbourhoods  of  Paris  are  cultivated  by 
the  Paris  maraichers.  All  these  are  not  fancy  dreams,  but  mere 
realities."  There  are,  besides,  the  vast  spaces  of  the  earth  whose 
potentialities  are  as  yet  unknown. 


A  Healthy  Citizenship.  141 

tilities  of  brain  and  hand,  new  instruments  and 
methods  of  production.  Our  faith  in  God  may 
whisper  to  us  that,  if  He  is  in  the  heaven,  all 
shall  be  well  with  His  world. 

But  one  thing  is  incumbent  on  us.  In  its  own 
interest,  and  with  a  view  to  social  health  and 
happiness,  society  is  bound  to  do  what  a  wise 
providence  of  mind  directs,  towards  the  securing 
of  a  physically,  intellectually,  and  morally  fit  citi- 
zenship. Some  words  of  Professor  Huxley,  bear- 
ing on  this,  are  remarkable  for  the  passion  which 
he  has  infused  into  them.  ''  So  long,"  he  writes, 
*'  as  unlimited  multiplication  goes  on,  no  social 
organisation  which  has  ever  been  devised,  or  is 
likely  to  be  devised,  no  fiddle-faddling  with  the 
distribution  of  wealth,  will  deliver  society  from 
the  tendency  to  be  destroyed  by  the  reproduction 
within  itself,  in  its  intensest  forms,  of  that  struggle 
for  existence,  the  limitation  of  which  is  the  object 
of  society.  However  shocking  to  the  moral  sense 
the  eternal  competition  of  man  against  man,  or  of 
nation  against  nation,  may  be,  and  however  revolt- 
ing may  be  the  accumulation  of  misery  at  the 
negative  pole  of  society,  with  that  of  wealth  at 
the  positive  pole,  this  state  of  things  must  abide 
and  grow  continually  worse,  so  long  as  Istar 
holds  her  sway  unchecked.  It  is  the  true  riddle 
of  the  Sphinx,  and  every  nation  which  does  not 


142  Present- Day  Problems. 

solve  it  will,  sooner  or  later,  be  destroyed  by  the 
monster  which  itself  has  generated."^ 

A  grave  feature  in  this  *'  riddle  of  the  Sphinx  " 
is  that  the  multiplication  alluded  to  is  most 
striking  in  the  classes  which  are  least  able  to 
bear  it.  In  England,  the  growth  in  these  classes 
is  at  the  rate  of  one  thousand  for  each  day  in 
the  year.  The  two  checks  that  Malthusianism 
would  impose  on  this  growth  are,  the  preventive 
and  the  punitive.  Under  the  former  of  these 
heads,  there  are  hints,  if  not  proposals,  from 
which  a  healthy  Christian  instinct  revolts.  But 
the  preventions  to  be  desiderated  are,  obedience 
to  the  behests  of  prudence,  and  the  strengthening 
of  the  nobler  elements  in  human  nature  as  against 
the  baser.  To  glance  at  only  one  point.  When 
all  circumstances  are  favourable,  early  marriages 
are,  speaking  generally,  better  than  marriages  in 
later  life.  But  those  which  are  entered  into  when 
lads  are  scarcely  out  of  their  teens,  and  not  out 
of  their  apprenticeships,  and  when  girls  are  not 
much  more  than  in  their  teens,  are  far  from  being 
a  blessing.  Almost  certainly,  the  consequences  of 
such  unions  are,  homes  whose  scanty  furnishing 
has  involved  their  occupants  in  debt  which  hence- 
forth clings  to  them,  Hke  a  millstone  around  the 
neck,  making  tempers  sour  and  conduct  reckless ; 

1  Nineteenth  Century,  February  1888. 


Checks  on  the  Increase  of  Popnlation,      143 

and  —  what  is  more  serious  still  —  an  offspring 
puny,  sickly,  and  pithless.  One  of  the  condi- 
tions of  citizenship  which  Ruskin  lays  down  is, 
that  children  be  well-born,  and  by  this  phrase  he 
means  that  which  is  wanting  in  the  case  referred 
to.^  Taking  a  wider  view,  children  are  not  well- 
born when,  as  with  multitudes,  there  is  no  sense 
of  responsibility  as  to  fatherhood  and  mother- 
hood, and  as  to  the  lives  that  are  brought  into 
the  world,  and  when  mere  animal  appetite  dom- 
inates over  the  rational,  reflective  self.  Then, 
the  operation  of  punitive  checks  is  only  too  cer- 
tain ;  and  the  operation  brings  not  only  misery 
to  individuals,  but  a  hurt  and  loss  to  society. 
No  drastic  measure,  relating  to  population,  can 
be  conceived  of  that  would  not  drag  behind  it  a 
train  of  evils ;  but  all  who  seek  the  real  good  of 
the  people  are  bound  to  do  their  utmost  to  raise 
the  ideals  of  parentage,  to  deliver  their  w^orld 
from  the  harm  of  ill -born  children,  and,  as  the 
only  efficient  check  on  lust,  so  to  strengthen  the 
intellectual  and  moral  nature  that  what  is  grossly 
sensual  shall  be  subordinated  to  "  nobler  loves 
and  higher  cares."  On  this  subject,  more  can- 
not be  said ;  but  less  it  is  impossible  to  say,  when 
we  consider  the  problem  of  population,  and  the 
conditions  of  vigorous  social  hfe. 

^  He  includes  more  :  see  'Time  and  Tide,'  p.  123. 


144  Present- Day  Problems. 

When  we  analyse  the  constituents  of  popu- 
lation, we  are  at  once  arrested  by  the  distinctness 
of  the  opposition  between  the  two  poles  of  our 
civilisation. 

The  aggregate  wealth  of  Great  Britain  is  enor- 
mous, and  its  growth  in  recent  years  has  been 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  In  the  United  States  of 
America,  the  annual  percentage  of  increase  is 
more  remarkable.  There,  for  some  time,  this  per- 
centage has  been  nearly  three  times  in  excess  of 
the  increase  of  population.  In  his  last  message 
to  Congress,  President  McKinley  referred  to  the 
wonderful  record  of  commercial  and  industrial 
progress  during  1900.  He  noted  that,  "  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  States,  the  imports 
and  exports  had  exceeded  two  billions  of  dollars ; 
the  increase  of  exports  in  that  year  over  the  pre- 
vious amounting  to  between  167  and  168  millions 
of  dollars,  and  the  increase  of  imports  amounting 
to  nearly  153  millions."  But,  though  the  tale  to 
be  told  concerning  the  United  Kingdom  does  not 
exhibit  such  phenomenal  results,  it  is  one  repre- 
sented by  notable  figures.  In  1899,  the  total  value 
of  imports  and  exports  taken  together  was  be- 
tween 814  and  815  millions  sterling,  showing  an 
increase  over  the  previous  year  of  50  millions. 
The  total  annual  income  may  be  set  down  as 
upwards  of  £1,700,000,000,  allowing  for  each  per- 


Wealth  and  Poverty,  145 

son — man,  woman,  child — on  an  average  about 
£^0  per  annum,  and  for  each  male  about  ^^170 
per  annum. ^  Now,  no  sensible  person  supposes 
that  an  equality  of  share  in  the  nation's  wealth 
by  the  nation's  citizenship  is  possible;  but,  in 
view  of  the  immense  totals  of  wealth  which 
these  statistics  indicate,  the  appalling  prevalence 
of  poverty  jars  on  the  mind.  One  who  visits  the 
nethermost  places  in  New  York  and  Chicago, 
and  observes,  not,  perhaps,  the  sodden  and 
hideous  depravity  which  is  evident  among  the 
submerged  tenths  in  London,  and  in  the  older 
European  cities,  but  still  enough  and  to  spare  of 
black,  squalid  wretchedness,  recalls  the  two 
billions  of  dollars  which  the  imports  and  exports 
had  exceeded,  and  asks  why  this  mass  of  impover- 
ished life  should  be  so  vast  and  solid.  Long 
dark  shadows  seem  always  to  rest  on  material 
progress.  Hitherto,  it  is  affirmed,  the  tendency 
has  been  towards  the  accumulation  of  riches  in 
the  hands  of  the  well-to-do,  money  making  money, 
and,  in  the  measure  of  this  accumulation,  towards 
rendering  the  poverty  of  the  poor  more  abject 
and  hopeless.  There  is  exaggeration,  sometimes 
culpable  exaggeration,  in  many  of  the  statements 
that  are  based  on  this  affirmation ;  for,  life-aver- 
ages and  conditions  have  been  greatly  improved 

^  Mulhall,  Dictionary  of  Statistics,  p.  245. 
K 


146  Present- Day  Problems. 

by  the  expansions  of  commerce  and  industry.  It 
is  the  contrast  of  the  want  and  woe  of  the  lower 
sections  of  the  community  with  the  luxury  that 
is  conspicuous  on  the  heights,  and  the  comfort 
that  marks  the  middle  classes  and  the  upper 
strata  even  of  the  working  class,  that  makes  the 
inequality  harsh  and  glaring.  But  no  person 
can  be  acquainted  with  the  position  of  unskilled 
labourers,  especially  with  that  of  the  earners 
of  precarious  livelihoods  —  those  who  may  be 
designated  the  ins  and  outs — without  feeling  that 
there  is  a  justification  for  the  belief  that,  below  a 
certain  line,  the  advance  has  not  been  commen- 
surate to  that  above  it.  ''  The  new  forces,"  it  has 
been  said,  "  strike  the  social  fabric  at  a  point 
intermediate  between  the  top  and  the  bottom. 
It  is  as  though  an  immense  wedge  were  being 
forced,  not  underneath  society,  but  through 
society.  Those  who  are  above  the  line  of 
separation  are  elevated  :  those  who  are  below 
are  crushed  down."^ 

By  this  enigma  of  our  social  life  we  are  con- 
fronted. In  the  midst  of  the  worlds  in  which 
we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being  are  the 
wide,  sad  zones  of  pauperism  and  poverty. 
To    reduce    these    zones,    is    one    of    the    most 

^  Poverty  and  Progress,  p.  6, 


The  Pmtper  Element  in  the  Population.    147 

pressing  obligations  of  a  society  that  calls  itself 
Christian. 

Estimates  of  the  pauper  element  in  the  popula- 
tion— i.e.,  of  the  proportion  maintained,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  by  the  rates  imposed  on  the  com- 
munity— vary.  On  one  day  in  the  year  i8g8, 
there  were  in  England  and  Wales,  in  Scotland, 
and  in  Ireland  upwards  of  one  million  and 
twenty-five  thousand  persons  in  receipt  of  public 
relief.^  Mr  Charles  Booth  reminds  us  that,  in- 
asmuch as  the  relief  given  is  not  generally 
permanent,  the  number  of  persons  receiving 
daily  aid  must  be  multiplied  by  2*3.^  And, 
thus  multiplying,  he  argues  that,  taking  1898 
as  the  typical  year,  the  pauper  class  may  be 
set  down  as  between  two  and  three  millions.^ 
The  words  "pauper"  and  "pauperised"  are 
often  used  in  an  elastic  sense,  as  including  the 
houseless,  inmates  of  prisons,  lunatics,  objects 
of  the  charity  of  associations  or  individuals,  as 
well    as    the   recipients   of    outdoor   and   indoor 

^  Reports  of  Local  Government  Boards. 

2  Paper  read  to  Statistical  Society,  December  1891. 

2  Mr  Chamberlain  is  quoted  '  In  Darkest  England  '  as  liaviiig 
said  :  "  There  is  a  population  equal  to  that  in  the  Metropolis  which 
has  remained  constantly  in  a  state  of  abject  destitution  and  misery. 
The  submerged  class,  according  to  Mr  Giffen,  comprises  one  in  five 
of  manual  labourers,  six  in  a  hundred  of  the  population.  Take  three 
millions  as  representing  the  destitute  in  England. " 


148  Present- Day  Problems. 

relief — truly  ''a  vast  despairing  multitude  in  a 
condition  nominally  free  but  really  enslaved." 
Giving  this  elasticity  of  meaning  to  his  state- 
ment, Sir  Robert  Giffen  speaks  of  five  millions 
"whose  existence  is  a  stain  on  our  civilisa- 
tion." ^  Let  us  reaHse  what  these  figures  de- 
note. "  At  least  one  in  five  of  the  manual- 
labour  class,  of  six  in  every  hundred  of  the 
entire  population,"  belongs  to  a  class  de- 
pendent and  needy !  The  picture  suggested  is 
that  of  a  procession  from  morning  to  night  of 
thousands  on  thousands  —  the  beaten  in  life's 
fight,  the  fallen,  the  unfortunate,  the  abjectly 
poor,  on  whose  black  banner  are  written  the 
words  Destitution  and  Despair.  And  this  in  a 
country  with  an  annual  income  of  more  than 
^1,700,000,000  ! 

To  ensure  strict  accuracy  as  to  the  amount 
of  pauperism,  in  the  legal  signification  of  the 
term,  let  us  turn  to  the  annual  reports  of  the 
Local  Government  Boards.  In  the  report  of 
persons  relieved  in  England  and  Wales  on  the 
ist  of  January  1901,  it  is  stated  that  the  total 
number  of  paupers,  including  insane,  at  that 
date  was  801,547.  Taking  the  population  as 
rather  more  than  32  millions,  this  means  that 
one   in    every    40   persons,   2*5    per    cent   of  the 

^  Essays  in  Finance,  vol.  ii.  p.  350, 


Pauperism  decreasino^.  149 

people,  is  in  pauperism.  In  London,  the  pro- 
portion is  somewhat  higher.  This,  adopting  Mr 
Booth's  calculation,  will  give  about  1,700,000 
persons  as  the  pauper  element.  The  report  of 
the  Local  Government  Board  of  Scotland  for 
igoo  informs  us  that  "the  number  of  poor  of 
all  classes,  including  dependents,  in  receipt  of 
relief  on  the  15th  May  1899,  was  97,947,  of 
whom  84,969  were  ordinary  poor,  and  12,978 
were  lunatic  poor.  Of  these,  upwards  of  43 
per  cent  were  65  years  of  age  and  upwards, 
more  than  11  per  cent  were  children,  and 
nearly  45  per  cent  were  between  the  ages  of, 
say,  fourteen  and  sixty-five."  Again  accepting 
Mr  C.  Booth's  estimate,  this  may  be  held  to 
indicate  that  about  200,000  persons  in  Scot- 
land were,  in  the  year  referred  to,  in  receipt 
of  larger  or  smaller  sums  by  way  of  relief. 
The  hopeful  circumstance  noted  in  the  reports 
is  that  pauperism  is  decreasing.  In  England, 
the  proportion  of  paupers  was  much  smaller 
in  1901  than  in  any  year  between  1861  and 
1875.  It  has  fallen  from  over  40  to  25  to  the 
thousand.  In  Scotland,  compared  with  1868, 
the  year  presenting  the  highest  record,  "the 
number  of  poor  per  thousand  of  the  population 
has  fallen  from  41  to  23,  a  decrease  of  18  per 
thousand  of  the  population."     The  question,  of 


1 50  Present- Day  Problems. 

course,  arises,  whether  a  considerable  element  of 
this  decrease  may  not  be  attributable  to  addi- 
tional stringency  in  the  application  of  tests, — a 
stringency  which,  whilst  reducing  the  number 
aided  from  the  rates,  possibly  leaves  a  great  mul- 
titude on  the  lower  side  of  the  region  between 
poverty  and  absolute  want — on  the  brink  of  a 
Slough  of  Despond. 

The  effect  on  social  life  of  the  existing  legal 
system  of  relief,  with  workhouses  or  poorhouses, 
outdoor  aid,  armies  of  inspectors  and  officials, 
committees  and  councils,  is  a  topic  too  large 
and  many-sided  to  admit  of  discussion  in  these 
pages.  With  the  objections  that  are  taken  to 
it  we  are  all  familiar — such  as,  its  tendency  to 
destroy  independence  of  spirit,  and  to  discourage 
thrift  by  making  dependence  on  the  parish  the 
accepted  prospect  of  the  poor;  its  fostering  of 
unfilial  attitudes  on  the  part  of  grown-up 
children  to  parents  ;  its  promotion  of  habits  of 
mendacity  and  deception ;  its  shedding  of  poison 
into  the  springs  of  charity,  and  narrowing  ot 
the  channels  of  benevolence  by  making  the  care 
of  the  poor  '^a  burden  on  the  rates."  And,  in 
these  and  other  objections,  there  is  a  force  which 
those  who  are  best  acquainted  with  the  work- 
ing of  the  Poor  Law  will  be  the  most  ready  to 
admit.      But  the   Poor   Law  is  a  fact ;    and,   in 


Chtu^ch  Action  stiperseded.  1 5 1 

view  of  all  the  circumstances  with  which  we  must 
reckon,  some  statutory  provision  is  indispensable. 
Persons  cannot  be  allowed  to  perish  from  want. 
This  at  least  is  due  from  society  to  its  un- 
fortunate members.  Criticism  of  the  methods 
according  to  which  a  debt  both  of  citizenship 
and  humanity  is  discharged  is  good,  if  its  aim 
is  to  indicate  better  methods,  or  to  remove 
abuses  which  have  crept  into  administration. 
In  the  meantime,  we  are  bound  to  do  all  that 
can  be  done  to  minimise  the  evils  attendant  on 
the  machinery  of  rehef,  and  to  make  that  as 
efficient  as  it  can  be. 

The  State  has,  to  a  great  extent,  superseded  the 
action  of  the  Church.  Could  the  Church,  in  view 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  problem  to  be  solved,  and 
of  its  domestic  divisions,  undertake,  by  the  free- 
will offerings  of  its  membership,  to  administer  the 
aid  which  has  been  thrown  as  a  charge  on  the 
entire  citizenship  ?  A  well-known  and  instructive 
experiment  in  this  direction  is  associated  with  the 
great  name  of  Dr  Chalmers.  When  the  popula- 
tion of  Glasgow  was  not  a  fourth  of  the  popula- 
tion of  this  day,  he  organised  an  agency  which, 
dispensing  with  the  imposition  of  assessments, 
endeavoured  to  prove  the  sufficiency  of  the  "use 
and  wont  "  of  Scotland,  by  constituting  the  Church 
and  its  apparatus   the  centre  of  all  administra- 


152  Present- Day  Proble^ns. 

tion.^  The  town  council  of  the  city  gave  the 
ardent  philanthropist  and  economist  a  fair  field 
for  the  carrying  out  of  his  plan.  It  suspended 
the  operation  of  the  Poor  Law  in  the  parish  of 
St  John's.  The  "  separate,  independent,  and  ex- 
clusive management"  of  the  funds  to  be  raised  by 
collections  in  the  parish  church  was  intrusted  to 
him.  He  poured  the  energy  of  his  large  heart 
into  the  work,  and  devoted  the  practical  capacity 
with  which  he  was  abundantly  endowed  to  the 
organisation  of  his  parish,  with  its  10,000  souls. 
He  mapped  out  small  districts,  which  deacons, 
taking  the  place  of  inspectors,  visited,  carefully  ex- 

^  Dr  Chalmers  was  translated  to  St  John's  in  1819.  Sir  Henry 
Craik,  in  his  interesting  '  History  of  a  Century,'  gives  a  sketch  of 
the  administration  of  funds  for  the  poor  prior  to  the  Poor  Law  of 
1845  :  "  In  1597  this  was  intrusted  to  the  kirk-session.  In  1672 
there  was  a  discretionary  power  given  to  levy  an  assessment ;  but  even 
though  the  heritors  were  combined  with  the  kirk-session  in  raising 
funds,  their  distribution  rested  with  the  latter.  In  the  last  decade 
of  the  eighteenth  century  the  ratio  of  the  enrolled  poor — even 
although  the  imposition  of  an  assessment  had  been  common  for 
fifty  years — was  still  very  moderate.  In  1791  it  was  only  18  for 
each  thousand  of  the  population  as  compared  with  48  in  England. 
In  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  [the  nineteenth]  century  it  in- 
creased considerably,  but  there  was  still  a  widespread  unwillingness 
to  follow  the  lax  example  of  England.  It  was  only  when  discon- 
tent and  altered  social  conditions  forced  the  problem  on  men's 
attention  that  the  necessity  of  action  one  way  or  another  was  felt. 
The  necessity  became  more  urgent  year  by  year,  and  at  length  in 
1840  it  forced  on  an  official  inquiry,  the  fruit  of  which  was  seen  in 
the  Poor  Law  of  1845." — Vol.  ii.  p.  322. 


The  Experiment  of  Dr  Chalmers.      1 5  3 

amining  all  cases  of  poverty,  and  giving  relief  as  it 
was  ascertained  to  be  deserved.  The  experiment 
was  a  success,  so  long  as  the  genius  and  magnetic 
force  of  Dr  Chalmers  directed  it,  and  so  long  as 
the  after-glow  of  that  genius  and  force  was  felt. 
Before  he  began  his  labours,  the  cost  of  providing 
for  the  poor  of  the  district  covered  by  his  parish 
was  about  ;f  1400  annually ;  under  his  supervision 
that  sum  was  reduced  to  ^280  annually,  and 
the  condition  of  those  who  were  relieved  in  the 
area  of  his  operations  was  better  than  that  in 
the  assessed  districts  of  Glasgow. 

But  the  success  was  short  -  lived.  After  a 
ministry  of  four  years  in  St  John's,  he  who 
was  ''  the  pulse  of  the  machine  "  removed  to  St 
Andrews.  For  some  time,  the  impetus  of  the 
movement  he  originated  was  sustained.  Ten 
years  after  his  removal,  an  English  Poor  Law 
Commissioner  reported  that  the  system  had 
proved  triumphant,  that  it  was  then  in  perfect 
operation,  and  that  not  a  doubt  was  expressed 
by  its  managers  of  its  continuing  to  remain 
triumphant.  The  Englishman  did  not  see  that 
the  glow  was  fading.  That  which  he  declared 
to  be  in  perfect  operation  was,  shortly  after  he 
had  given  his  testimony,  abandoned,  and,  so  far 
as  the  relief  of  the  poor  was  concerned,  the 
parish    became   part  of  the  ordinary  Poor    Law 


154  Present- Day  Problems. 

system.^  The  experiment,  which  thus  succeeded 
and  then  broke  down,  has  never  been  repeated. 
For  what  it  accompHshed,  a  Chalmers  was 
necessary,  and  even  he  could  not  bear  the  strain 
of  the  toil  for  more  than  a  brief  period.  And 
Glasgow  and  the  world  have  travelled  far,  and 
developed  new  social  states,  since  his  day. 

When  we  speak  of  relief,  it  must  be  understood 
that  the  legal  system  is  intended  to  offer  only  a 
last  resource.  This  intention  is  obscured  by  a 
change  of  feeling  which  shows  that  a  leaven  of 
evil  import  is  at  work.  To  "  go  on  the  parish  " 
is  too  often  regarded  as  a  first,  rather  than  a  last, 
resource.  In  former  days,  there  was  a  sense  of 
shame  attached  to  it.  The  necessity  to  do  so 
broke  the  heart  of  honest  man  or  woman.  To 
prevent  it,  the  relatives  of  the  unfortunate  were 
ready  to  pinch  themselves.  In  the  present  day, 
that  sense  of  shame  is  not  so  widely  prevalent. 
Those  who  have  sat  on  committees  of  boards  or 
councils  know  how  frequently  sons,  even  when 
earning  a  fair  wage,  need  to  be  compelled  by  law 
to  contribute  to  the  support  of  aged  parents ;  and 
clergymen  of  large  city  parishes  are  called  fre- 
quently to  sign  applications,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  poor  roll,  by  fathers  or  mothers  suing  their 
children  for  an  aliment.     "It  is  not  a  cause  for 

1  Dr  Hanna's  Memoirs  of  Dr  Chalmers,  vol.  ii.  pp.  287-315. 


Legal  Relief  a  Last  Resource.         155 

wonder,"  writes  an  inspector;  ''for  the  parents 
probably  did  little  for  them  but  bring  them  into 
the  world,  and  let  them  fight  their  way  in  it  as 
best  they  can."^  Perhaps  so,  and  if  so,  the  more 
the  pity.  But  even  good  parents  are  neglected 
by  their  offspring,  and  the  thought  running  in  the 
mind  is,  that  the  parish  is  bound  to  look  after  the 
poor,  and  that  relatives,  who  have  enough  to  do  to 
provide  for  their  own  families,  are  released  from 
responsibility.  "  We  pay  the  rates,"  it  is  said  ; 
"  why  should  not  our  folk  get  the  benefit  ?  "  And, 
taking  a  different  view-point,  there  are  persons, 
not  a  few,  who  find  the  workhouse  with  its  labour 
easier  than  the  hard  toil  in  the  world  outside  it. 
Now,  it  needs  to  be  enforced  that  the  Legislature 
has  undertaken  to  secure  means  of  subsistence 
only  for  those  who  are  bereft  of  such  means. 
In  rigidly  restricting  the  agency  of  the  Poor 
Law  to  this  —  the  lower  line  of  poverty  —  it  is 
acting  in  justice  to  a  very  considerable  number 
of  ratepayers,  who  are  only  a  little  way  above 
that  line,  and,  though  in  many  cases  there 
may  seem  to  be  hardship,  acting  also  for  the 
best  interests  of  society.  To  steer  a  course 
which  shall  avoid  both  the  Scylla  of  harsh  treat- 
ment and  the  Charybdis  of  unwise  treatment  is 
no  easy  matter, 

'  Report  of  Local  Government  Board  for  Scotland,  1900. 


156  Present-D ay  Problems. 

Administrative  methods,  it  may  be  added, 
must  be  frequently  revised,  and  sometimes  recast. 
Officialism  is  slow  to  move,  and,  when  it  does 
move,  is  apt  to  be  clumsy  and  limp  in  its  motion. 
But,  let  it  be  gratefully  acknowledged  that,  within 
recent  years,  a  considerable  advance  in  the  dis- 
crimination and  the  classification  of  the  poor  has 
been  effected.  The  casual  are  separated  from  the 
habitual,  those  who  need  sharp  discipline  and 
rigid  tests  from  those  who  have  sunk  through 
no  moral  fault  of  their  own.  There  are  two 
classes  in  the  ranks  of  pauperism  that  specially 
appeal  to  compassion.  The  one  is  the  class 
represented  by  the  43)^  per  cent  in  Scotland 
of  sixty -five  years  old  and  upwards;  the  other 
is  that  represented  by  the  ii>^  per  cent  of 
children. 

With  regard  to  the  latter  class — children  too 
often  ill -born  and  unwelcomed  —  shall  we  not 
indorse  the  saying  of  the  late  Sir  John  M'Neill 
in  his  evidence  before  the  House  of  Commons,  "  I 
would  rather  that  no  child  were  in  any  poor- 
house"  ?  ''The  day  is  not  far  distant,"  added 
Sir  John,  "  when  we  shall  have  no  children  in  the 
poorhouse  that  can  be  suitably  boarded  out." 
That  day,  we  may  believe,  is  in  the  immediate 
future.  The  erection  of  cottage  homes,  un- 
attached  to   any   poorhouse,    is   a   policy    which 


C /asses  specially  appealing  to  Sympathy.    1 5  7 

obtains  increasing  acceptance ;  and  there  are 
hundreds  of  children  boarded  out,  in  both  the 
Lowlands  and  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  under 
regulations  favourable  to  their  physical  and  moral 
development.  Separated  from  unwholesome  en- 
vironments, they  are  being  trained  in  the  habits 
of  useful  and  healthy  life. 

With  regard  to  the  former  class,  there  are,  un- 
doubtedly, many  who,  whilst  entitled  to  pity,  have 
no  claim  on  esteem  ;  but  many  also  are  recipients 
of  aid,  because  a  place  can  no  longer  be  found 
for  them  in  workshop  or  on  farm,  and  there  is 
none  to  help  them.  In  the  Parliamentary  Blue- 
Book,  there  is  a  statement  in  the  report  of  a 
superintendent  of  a  Poor  Law  district  which 
merits  attention.  It  is  this :  ''  Several  recent 
changes  in  legislation  and  conditions  of  employ- 
ment act  somewhat  as  factors  tending  to  increase 
pauperism.  The  Employers'  Liability  Act,  while 
on  the  one  hand  relieving  the  parishes  of  persons 
who  have  actually  received  injury  in  employment, 
if  they  are  fortunate  in  making  good  their  claim, 
hinders  the  engagement  of  aged  persons,  or  per- 
sons with  physical  and  mental  disability,  such  as 
defective  eyesight  or  hearing,  weakness  of  heart 
(causing  faintness),  or  dulness  of  intellect.  The 
increase  of  joint-stock  companies  and  co-opera- 
tion and  trades-unionism  in  some  respects  tend  to 


158  Present-Day  Problems, 

increase  pauperism ;  for,  where  individual  firms 
would  formerly  retain  a  servant,  although  unable 
to  perform  a  full  day's  work,  the  eagerness  for  divi- 
dends, and  the  necessity  of  paying  standard  wages, 
do  not  now  permit  of  his  employment."^  Poor 
old  men !  The  world,  it  seems,  does  not  want 
them.  The  decree  of  big  dividends  and  standard 
wages  is,  "To  the  poorhouse  with  the  old  men." 
It  makes  one  sad  to  see  the  veteran,  who  has 
borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  a  long  day,  con- 
signed to  the  scene  of  withered  leaves  and  flame- 
spent  cinders. 

A  question  which  of  late  has  been  eagerly  dis- 
cussed, but  to  which  no  adequate  reply  has  yet 
been  given,  is.  What  can  be  done  towards  remov- 
ing the  stigma  of  pauperism  from  the  aged  who 
have  lived  honourably  and  honestly,  and  whose 
good  labour  has  helped  to  make  the  nation's 
wealth  ?  Some  years  ago,  a  scheme  of  national 
assurance  against  sickness  and  old  age  was  for- 
mulated, but  the  judgment  of  a  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons  dismissed  it  as  impracticable. 
Within  the  last  ten  years,  proposals  for  **  old-age 
pensions  for  the  people "  have  been  made,  not 
only  by  doctrinaire  philanthropists,  but  by  such 
politicians  and  men  of  affairs  as  Mr  Chamberlain. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  these  proposals  have  excited 

1  Report  of  Local  Government  Board  for  Scotland,  1900. 


Old  Age  Pensions,  i  59 

any  enthusiasm  among  the  classes  whose  benefit 
they  contemplate.  "  We  do  not  want  old-age 
pensions,"  exclaimed  a  Labour  leader.  "  Our 
men  die  of  hardship  before  old  age  arrives. 
What  we  want  is  to  make  their  short  lives  more 
liveable  and  comfortable."^  In  this  utterance, 
he  interprets  a  prevalent  feeling.  Men  who 
live  from  hand  to  mouth  are  apt  to  take 
short  "dips  into  the  future";  ''sufficient,"  they 
think,  ''  for  the  day  is  the  evil  [or  the  good] 
thereof."  What  relieves  a  present  pressure,  or 
gives  a  present  advantage,  appeals  to  them  with 
more  force  than  any  scheme  to  meet  a  con- 
tingency at  a  period  which,  to  younger  persons, 
seems  so  remote  as  sixty -five  years  of  age. 
But,  independently  of  this  trend  of  thought,  the 
carrying  out  of  any  plan  of  pensions  involves 
difficulties  in  detail,  the  way  through  which  has 
not  yet  been  made  apparent.  One  of  these 
difficulties  is  to  prevent  the  pension  from  de- 
generating into  a  bounty,  which  in  effect  would 
be  only  another  form  of  outdoor  relief.  A 
second  difficulty  connects  with  the  issue,  whether 
in  the  bestowment  of  the  bounty  there  shall 
be   discrimination  of  the  aged  poor.^      In    Ger- 

^  Mr  Ben  Tillet,  quoted  in  *  A  Plea  for  Liberty,'  chap.  x. 
2  In  a  speech  delivered  lately  Mr  Morley  said  :  ' '  The  problem  is 
one  of  supreme  difficulty.     You  have  a  difficulty  in  the  method  of 


i6o  Present- Day  Problems. 

many,  an  endowment  is  secured  for  selected 
wage  -  earners,  but  the  plan  there  adopted 
cannot  be  regarded  as  completely  successful. 
And  any  investigation  as  to  means  and  merit 
conducted  by  officials  is  almost  certain  to  be 
both  irksome  and  unsatisfactory.  The  conten- 
tion of  Mr  Charles  Booth  and  others,  that  the 
contribution  to  a  national  pension  fund,  available 
for  persons  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  at  sixty- 
five,  should  be  universal  and  compulsory,  would 
seem  to  be  the  only  system  of  direct  State  inter- 
vention by  which  the  end  desired  can  be  secured. 
But  this  does  not  meet  with  favour.  ^'  It  would 
mean,"  remarks  an  essayist,  "the  substitution  of 
a  poll-tax — vexatious,  costly,  and  demoralising — 
for  the  Poor  Law,  the  cost  of  which  is  met  by 
taxation  based  on  a  far  more  equitable  adjustment 
of  demands  to  the  means  of  the  taxpayer."  ^ 

To  arrive  at  some  practical  and  practicable 
scheme,  by  which  the  service  of  those  who  have 
grown  grey  and  old  in  useful  labour  shall  be  sub- 


attaining  your  object — the  question  of  whether  this  or  that  phase  of 
the  work  is  desirable  or  not  is  in  itself  very  difficult.  The  means 
of  attaining  it  without  doing  more  damage  than  good,  by  injuring 
the  self-reliant  and  self-supporting  institutions  which  the  labouring 
classes  have  splendidly  built  up  for  themselves — that  constitutes  a 
situation  which  no  man  with  any  sense  of  responsibility  will  deal 
with  lightly  or  off-hand." 

1  A  Plea  for  Liberty,  chap.  x. 


Pension  Funds.  i6i 

stantially  recognised,  may  not,  in  a  future  time, 
pass  the  wit  of  man.  In  the  meantime,  might 
not  much  be  done  by  employers,  by  the  benevo- 
lent, by  society  in  general,  towards  the  encourage- 
ment of  self-help  through  co-operative  and  trades 
unions,  savings  banks,  and  friendly  societies  ? 
The  Friendly  societies  have  wonderfully  developed 
in  their  operations  and  in  their  resources.^ 
They  are  registered,  and  are  under  careful  super- 
vision. They  have  enormous  funds.  Some  of 
them — especially  the  Oddfellows  and  the  For- 
esters— have  special  pension  funds,  whereby  a 
young  man,  beginning  at  twenty  years  of  age, 
can  ensure  5s.  a-week  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  for 
the  payment  of  4j^d.  a-week.^  Unfortunately, 
the  facilities  thus  offered  are  not  taken  ad- 
vantage of  so  extensively  as  is  to  be  desired ; 
but  no  way  more  educative  of  self-respect  and 
of  a  wise  forethought  could  be  found  than  that 
of  offering  inducements  to  the  working  classes 
partially  to  provide,  by  means  of  them,  for^  the 
liabilities  of  loss  of  health,  or  loss  of  power 
to  serve,  when  the  envious  years  write  their 
mark  on  the  frame  of  the  workman. 

So  long  as  the  only  mode  of  relief  is  that  of 

^  Mr  ChamlDerlain  has  recently  advocated  a  new  beginning,  with 
the  co-operation  of  the  Friendly  societies. 

2  This  rate  is  taken  from  the  tables  of  the  Foresters'  Society. 

L 


1 62  Present- Day  Proble^ns. 

the  Poor  Law,  the  old  who,  through  no  fault  of 
their  own,  are  obliged  to  drop  out  of  the  ranks 
of  the  army  of  toilers  should  be  treated  with  all 
possible  consideration.  Homes  for  such,  apart 
from  the  ordinary  poorhouse,  might  be  provided, 
if  not  by  law,  at  least  by  benevolence. 

There  is  much  connected  with  the  administra- 
tion of  statutory  relief  that  cannot  be  regarded 
as  satisfactory.  The  blame  may  be  divided  be- 
tween the  system,  and  the  unsatisfactory  social 
states  to  which  it  is  related.  But  Christian 
wisdom  can  do  much  to  elevate  even  the 
sunken  mass  of  pauperism ;  and,  though  the 
Church  in  its  corporate  capacity  no  longer 
directs  the  machinery,  it  can  complement  or 
supplement  the  machinery  that  is  operative.  A 
poorhouse,  as  now  ordered,  is  a  melancholy  place  : 
vitality  feeble,  low -toned,  much  of  it  vicious; 
but  human  souls  are  there,  precious  to  Him 
who  sees  with  other  and  larger  eyes  than  ours. 
There  is  room  in  it  for  the  exercise  of  sympathy, 
and  for  the  blessings  of  Christian  ordinances. 
The  writer  of  these  pages  has  no  more  pleasant 
recollection  of  his  service  in  Glasgow  than  that 
which  is  associated  with  worship,  and  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Holy  Communion,  in  the  Poor- 
houses  of  the  Barony  and  the  City  of  Glasgow. 
And    there    is    an    ample    opportunity    for    the 


The  Tzvo  Organisations  of  Relief.      163 

exercise  of  judicious  benevolence  in  connexion 
with  parochial  relief.  "  The  two  organisations 
of  relief,"  it  has  rightly  been  said,  "should  be, 
indeed,  as  it  were  twin -sisters,  and  should  act 
as  completely  in  union  with  one  another  as 
twin  -  sisters  generally  are  supposed  to  do. 
Without  this  action,  the  greatest  amount  of 
good  cannot  be  done  either  by  the  guardians 
on  the  one  hand  or  the  clergy,  ministers,  and 
other  charitable  agencies  on  the  other."  ^ 

^  Handy-Book  for  Guardians  of  the  Poor,  pp.  179,  180. 


164 


CHAPTER    IX. 

PRESENT-DAY    PROBLEMS  :     POVERTY    AND    ITS 
CIRCUMSTANCES. 

The  pauperism  with  which  the  State  deals 
through  a  special  legal  machinery  indicates  "  a 
worm  gnawing  at  the  core  of  England's  rose." 
But  the  poverty  which  prevails  is  not  to  be 
measured  by  the  number  of  persons  who  are 
recipients  of  relief  and  their  dependants;  the 
zone  is  much  wider :  it  is  a  zone  of  darkness 
which  presses  against  all  that  is  most  attractive 
in  the  outer  aspects  of  our  civilisation.  A 
stranger  surveying  the  chief  thoroughfares,  the 
terraces  and  villas  and  parks  of  our  cities,  or 
the  towns  and  smiling  homesteads  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  our  railways,  might  suppose  that 
the  death  of  poverty  had  been  swallowed  up  in 
an  abundance  of  comfort.  But  he  would  soon 
find  that  he  had  looked  on  only  one  side  of  the 
picture.     Even  in  rural  districts,  there  are  "  in- 


Estimates  of  Poverty.  165 

sanitary  cottages  with  bad  water  and  starvation 
food " ;  and,  assuming  that  poverty  means  a 
scanty  supply  of  the  things  which  are  necessary 
to  maintain  healthy  vitality,  the  condition  of 
masses  congregated  in  the  great  centres  of 
population  would  remind  him  of  grim  spectres 
that  are  ever  flitting  through  our  Vanity  Fairs. 
The  statistics  of  Mr  Charles  Booth  have  been 
often  quoted.  Sometimes  their  entire  reliability 
is  questioned.  But  they  have  not  been  dis- 
proved ;  they  have  not  been  shown  to  be  ex- 
aggerated by  observations  and  inductions  as 
painstaking  as  those  on  which  he  builds. 
What  are  the  results  that  he  claims  to  have 
established?  Taking  only  a  general  summary, 
they  are  the  following.  In  London,  the  pro- 
portion of  persons  in  the  middle  and  upper 
classes  is  only  17  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants, 
whilst  the  proportion  of  persons  shading  from 
poverty  down  to  absolute  want  (exclusive  of  all 
fairly  employed  and  regular  labour)  over  the 
whole  city  is  30  per  cent.  In  thirty-seven 
districts,  each  of  which  contains  more  than 
30,000  souls,  and  the  total  population  of  which 
is  1,719,000,  the  latter  proportion  varies  from 
40  per  cent  to  60  per  cent.^  No  doubt,  London 
is  exceptional ;  but  it  is  exceptional  in  its  heights 

^  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People  in  London. 


1 66  P7'escnt-Day  Problems. 

as  well  as  in  its  depths,  and  against  the  splendour 
of  the  heights  the  impression  of  the  depths  is 
terribly  silhouetted.  All  who  know  the  state  of 
other  cities  are  aware  that  in  them  approxima- 
tions to  the  proportions  in  the  capital  reappear. 
The  prospect,  indeed,  is  not  all  gloom,  and  only 
gloom.  There  are  ''larks'  notes  ringing  out  of 
what  seem  to  be  ravens'  croaks."  In  the  most 
congested  parts  of  the  city  there  are  peaceful 
homes,  and  among  their  denizens  may  be  found 
beautiful  illustrations  of  real  nobility  and  genuine 
happiness.  But  so  long  as  ratios  like  those 
referred  to  obtain,  there  is  "  an  estate  of  sin 
and  misery"  the  consciousness  of  which  haunts 
the  mind.  Professor  Huxley,  who  says  that  he 
has  an  abhorrence  of  sentimental  philanthropy, 
protests,  ''  If  there  is  no  hope  of  a  large  im- 
provement of  the  condition  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  human  family,  I  should  hail  the  advent 
of  some  kindly  comet  which  should  sweep  the 
whole  affair  away  as  a  desirable  consummation." 
Now,  the  matter  as  to  which  the  Church  of 
Christ  may  examine  itself  is,  How  comes  it  that, 
having  respect  to  the  mission  intrusted  to  it,  to 
the  call  addressed  to  it  to  search  out  what  is  lost 
and  driven  away,  to  the  enthusiasm  of  humanity 
that  ought  to  burn  and  shine  in  it,  this  mass  of 
poverty  has  been  allowed  to  form  and  to  grow 


The  Duty  of  Christian  Civilisation.      167 

into  such  dimensions  ?  Has  "  the  gold  become 
dim  and  the  most  fine  gold  been  changed "  ? 
Has  the  age  broken  away  from  Christian  ideals  ? 
If  these  ideals  are  still  efficient,  and  the  con- 
science is  still  true  to  them,  how  is  it  that  the 
organised  and  disciplined  fellowship  in  Christ 
cannot  cast  this  demon  of  poverty  out  ?  The 
question  is  one  an  answer  to  which  is  to  be 
sought  only  in  the  light  of  the  Master's  mind. 
By  and  by,  we  shall  see  what  the  Church  has 
aroused  herself  to  attempt  and  to  do.  Here,  let 
it  be  merely  emphasised  that  no  graver  issue  can 
occupy  Christian  thought  and  tax  the  resources 
of  Christian  energy  than  that  of  the  most  effec- 
tive ways  and  means  of  discharging  the  duty  of 
Christianised  civilisation  to  the  circles  on  circles 
of  under-fed,  ill-clad,  ill-housed  human  beings 
whose  world  is,  and  ever  has  been,  a  slum,  quitted 
by  them  only  when  the  summons  to  the  unknown 
beyond  reaches  them,  or  when  they  are  located 
in  their  purgatory,  the  workhouse. 

For,  the  Church  is  not  to  be  a  mere  Lady 
Bountiful,  with  a  countenance  always  beaming 
with  good  nature,  and  helping  all  and  sundry  in  a 
random  and  inconsiderate  manner.  Benevolence 
must  be  made  a  study.  It  should  be  regarded  as 
a  science;  in  its  practical  forms,  it  should  be  an 
art.    There  is  nothing  more  necessary  than  a  care- 


i68  Present- Day  Problems. 

ful  investigation  into  the  causes  and  the  roots  of 
poverty,  a  discrimination  of  the  persons  who  ap- 
peal to  sympathy,  and  of  the  methods  by  which 
poverty  may  be  reached  in  its  causes  rather  than 
temporarily  reheved  in  its  manifestations.  The 
distribution  of  charity  at  present  is  indescribable. 
It  is  said  that,  apart  from  the  donations  of  individ- 
uals which  cannot  be  estimated  but  which  repre- 
sent an  enormous  sum,  charitable  societies  of  Great 
Britain  expend  between  ten  and  eleven  millions 
sterling  annually,^  and  that  in  London  alone  four 
millions  are  given  away,  the  greater  part  being 
devoted  to  the  relief  of  distress  and  to  purposes 
of  charity.^  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  all  the  work 
done  and  all  the  gifts  bestowed,  there  remain  the 
great  percentages  of  the  insufficiently  supplied. 
The  impression  is  widespread,  and  is  not  un- 
warranted, that  much  of  the  liberality  which  is 
elicited  is  "  flung  to  the  winds  like  rain,"  that 
much  tends  to  form  habits  of  thought  and  of 
feeling  which  degrade  the  character,  sap  the  spirit 
of  self-respect,  and  the  faculty  of  self-help  ;  which, 
instead  of  constituting  a  leverage  for  the  uplifting 
of  the  person  (the  only  permanent  benefit),  make 
the  relief  of  the  hour  the  harm  and  injury  of 
the  life;  which,  by  reason  of  the  overlapping  of 

^  Mulhall's  Dictionary  of  Statistics,  p.  112. 
'^  Loomis,  Modern  Cities,  p.  45, 


Organisation  of  Charity.  169 

agencies  and   of  the  absence  of  concerted  plans 
and   intelligent   principles   of  action,  demoralise 
the    poor ;    that    thus    and   therefore   any   gains 
realised  are    not  commensurate  to  the  expendi- 
ture of  money  and  strength  on  the  securing  of 
these  gains.     Let  benevolence  try  its  ways.     Let 
Churches  more  wisely  consider  the  poor.      It  is 
part  of  their  business ;  let  them  give  more  heed 
to  it,  as  being  not  a  luxury  but  a  business.     More 
attention  should  be  given  by  the  clergy,  and  by 
the  membership  of  Churches,  to  social  topics,  and 
to  the  principles  and  methods  of  finance,  as  they 
bear  on  the  support  of  the  weak  by  the  strong. 
One  thing  is  most  urgently  demanded — viz.,  the 
focussing  of  charities,   their  organisation,   co-or- 
dination, or  subordination  on  well-regulated  lines. 
In  large  cities,  an  object-lesson  in  this  direction 
has  been  given  by  the  establishment  of  societies 
aiming  at  a  more  efficient  direction  of  efforts  for 
the  relief  of  distress,   and   at   the    repression  of 
mendicity.      These   societies   have   already  done 
good  work  ;    the  value   of  their   service  will  in- 
crease   in    the    measure   of  their   ability  to  har- 
monise  the    many   and   confused   expressions   of 
philanthropy,  and  to  make  their  influence  more 
thoroughly  helpful  in  the  reduction  of  poverty. 

If  the  parochial  system  were  more  fully  real- 
ised, if  the  principle  of  locality  were  made  more 


1 70  Present-Day  Probkius. 

effective,  the  National  Churches  would  possess 
the  most  favourable  of  opportunities  for  co-oper- 
ating in  a  grand  national  movement  to  stub  up 
the  roots  of  the  upas-tree  of  poverty.  Would 
that  they  rose  to  the  height  of  this  opportunity ! 
How  miserably  petty  and  inferior  seem  many 
causes  which  bulk  largely  in  the  ecclesiastical 
view,  when  set  against  the  facts  of  those  spheres 
of  sunken  life  as  to  which  an  English  prelate 
recently  remarked,  '*  Unless  they  are  carefully 
considered,  they  will  generate  a  tornado  which, 
when  the  storm  clears,  may  leave  a  good  deal  of 
wreckage  behind  !  "  ^ 

But  the  great  problem  of  poverty  cannot  be 
dissociated  from  the  features  of  social  life.  Here- 
after, reference  will  be  made  to  economic  and  in- 
dustrial conditions  which,  in  the  opinion  of  many, 
are  chiefly  responsible  for  the  evil  deplored.  At 
present,  let  us  consider  some  of  the  habits  and 
circumstances  with  which  it  connects. 

By  universal  consent,  a  melancholy  prominence 
must  be  given  to  intemperate  indulgence  in  alco- 
holic liquors.  The  fatal  lines  of  this  indulgence 
are  not  written  on  the  so-called  working  classes 
only.     They  are  legible  in  all  classes.     But  among 

^  The  Bishop  of  Winchester,  quoted  in  '  Social  and  Present-Day 
Questions,'  p.  11. 


Intemperance^  a  Canse  of  Poverty.      1 7 1 

those  on  the  lower  side  of  the  social  scale  the 
ravages  are  most  glaring ;  they  are  presented  in 
their  coarsest  and  most  revolting  aspects,  and  in 
their  most  ruinous  consequences,  so  far  as  these 
can  be  traced.  What  the  exact  percentage  of 
poverty  directly  attributable  to  intemperance  may 
be,  there  is  no  need  to  discuss.  Mr  C.  Booth, 
after  a  careful  investigation  of  4000  cases  ''which 
were  representative  of  all  the  poor  in  the  districts 
from  which  they  were  drawm  and  not  only  of  those 
who  apply  for  relief,"  gave  only  14  as  the  percent- 
age due  to  drink  and  its  attendant  thriftlessness. 
Even  if  this  were  the  whole  truth  of  the  matter 
as  to  the  entire  poverty  of  the  kingdom,  the 
statement  would  be  sufficiently  serious.  But  he 
reminds  us  that,  in  this  estimate,  he  has  regarded 
drink  as  only  "  a  principal  cause."  "  As  a  con- 
tributory cause,"  he  adds,  "  it  would  no  doubt  be 
connected  with  a  much  larger  proportion."^  It 
is  impossible  to  make  a  sharp  division  between 
principal  and  contributory  cause.  It  has  been 
proved  in  the  most  conclusive  manner  by  the 
testimony  of  judges,  of  guardians  of  the  poor,  of 
prison  authorities,  of  experts  in  the  treatment  of 
the   insane,    by   the   evidence    of  Commissioners 

^  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People  in  London,  vol.  i.  pp.  147,  14S. 
1600  of  the  4000  cases  belonged  to  the  lowest  class  of  labovirers  and 
to  those  who  are  chronically  in  want. 


1 72  Present- Day  Problems. 

and  Commissions,  by  reports  innumerable,  that 
by  far  the  larger  amount  of  the  wretchedness, 
the  squalor,  the  crime,  the  vice,  in  city  and  in 
rural  districts,  is  traceable  to  drink  as  the  cause 
that  is  in  or  behind  all  occasions  and  contribu- 
tions. 

Messrs  Rowntree  and  Sherwell,  in  their  admir- 
able treatise  on  the  temperance  problem,  shew 
that  the  sum  expended  on  alcoholic  beverages  in 
the  United  Kingdom  in  the  year  1899  —  viz., 
3^162,163,474 — is  equal  to  nearly  one  and  a  half 
times  the  amount  of  the  national  revenue,  or  to 
all  the  rents  of  all  the  houses  and  farms  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  ''  Two  -  thirds  of  this 
amount,"  they  further  point  out,  ''  are  spent  by 
the  working  classes,  who  constitute  approxi- 
mately 75  per  cent  of  the  population  !  That  is 
to  say,  more  than  -£"108,000,000  must  have 
been  spent  by  30,400,000  persons  (representing 
6,080,000  families)  belonging  to  the  working 
classes.  In  other  words,  every  working  -  class 
family  spent  on  an  average  in  1899  ^17,  15s.  3d., 
or  6s.  lod.  per  week,  on  alcoholic  liquor,  which, 
assuming  the  average  income  of  a  working-class 
family  to  be  35s.  per  week,  is  equal  to  nearly  one- 
fifth  of  the  entire   family  income."  ^     The  state- 

^  The  Temperance  Problem  and  Social  Reform,  pp.  9,  10. 


A  Criminal  Waste.  173 

ment  is  appalling.  For,  we  must  remember  that 
these  families  include  women  and  children ;  they 
include  also  very  many  families  of  strictly  sober 
members ;  they  include  likewise  the  aged  and 
the  infirm.  And,  if  deductions  covering  these 
elements  are  made,  what  a  huge  quantity  of  drink 
must  be  consumed  day  by  day,  night  by  night,  by 
the  residuum  !  Who  can  calculate  all  that  this 
involves  ?  In  a  vast  multitude  of  instances,  the 
money  consumed  on  drink  must  be  taken  from 
that  absolutely  required  for  the  necessities  of 
vigorous  existence.  Having  regard  to  this  crim- 
inal waste,  what  wonder  need  be  felt  that 
devilry  and  misery  meet  us  everywhere !  What 
wonder  that  there  is  such  a  mass  of  persons 
whose  vitality  is  low,  whose  constitution,  phy- 
sical and  moral,  is  feeble ;  that  sodden  faces, 
brutalised  countenances,  manhood  and  woman- 
hood in  which  the  mark  of  the  beast  has  all 
but  obliterated  the  image  of  God,  and  childhood 
wan  and  weary  and  weeping  bitterly,  linger  ever- 
lastingly about  the  purlieus  of  the  city  ! 

Let  us  pass  from  the  region  of  statistics.  The 
impatience  which  Carlyle  once  expressed,  when 
figures  as  to  intemperance  were  arrayed  in  his 
hearing,  is  intelligible.  '*  Sir,"  exclaimed  the 
Prophet,  ''  I  desire  to  hear  nothing  more  on  that 


174  Present-Day  Problems. 

disgraceful  subject."  Disgraceful  it  is,  and  un- 
speakably sad.  The  question  with  which  we  are 
concerned  is,  What  can  be  done  to  arrest  the 
haemorrhage  to  which  it  points  ? 

In  1845  De  Quincey  alluded  to  "  the  most 
remarkable  movement  in  society  which  history 
perhaps  will  be  summoned  to  record — that  which 
in  our  own  days  has  applied  itself  to  the  abate- 
ment of  intemperance."  ^  The  language  is  some- 
what inflated,  but  the  movement  glanced  at 
signalised  an  awakenment  of  the  Christian  con- 
science to  the  magnitude  of  a  waste  and  an 
iniquity  which  had  been  allowed  to  assume  por- 
tentous dimensions.  Something  must  be  done 
to  check  the  desolations  of  alcohol.  What  could 
it  be  ?  Men  and  women  pondered  the  issue.  All 
honour  let  us  accord  to  those  who,  notwithstand- 
ing the  derision  with  which  their  efforts  were 
greeted  by  society,  and  the  icy  coldness  with 
which  they  were  viewed  in  Church  courts  and  by 
churchmen,  toiled  on,  puzzling  over  the  issue, 
and  doing  what  they  could  to  arouse  their  genera- 
tion to  the  sense  of  the  sin  lying  at  its  door.  To 
them  may  be  applied  the  words  of  Hegel  concern- 
ing heroes:  "They  derived  their  purpose  and 
vocation  not  from  the  calm  conservative  course 

^  De  Quinct-y's  Works,  vol,  xi.  p.  146.     The  movement  originated 
in  1826. 


The  Pioneers  of  Temperance  Reform.     175 

of  affairs,  but  from  a  concealed  fount,  from  that 
inner  spirit  which,  impinging  on  the  surface  of  the 
world  as  on  a  shell,  shivers  it  to  pieces,  because 
it  is  another  and  quite  foreign  force ;  they  were 
men  who  seemed  to  draw  their  life-impulses  from 
themselves,  and  whose  influence  produced  new 
conditions  that  appeared  as  their  work.  Yet 
they  had  really  no  consciousness  at  starting  of 
the  great  ideas  they  were  helping  to  unfold,  often 
being  plain  practical  men  with  an  insight  into  the 
needs  of  the  time — what  indeed  was  waiting  for 
development — the  very  truth  needed  for  their  age 
and  already  found  in  the  womb  of  time."  ^  The 
pioneers  of  the  temperance  cause  were  plain  prac- 
tical men.  They  were  not  ideahsts,  though  they 
helped  to  unfold  great  ideas.  They  had  no 
political  designs.  They  had  no  elaborate  pro- 
grammes. The  first  article  of  their  union  was, 
*'  Stop  drinking,  for  your  own  sake  or  for  your 
neighbours'  sake,  and  thus  work  towards  the 
abatement  of  intemperance."  A  simple  creed,  the 
product  of  simple,  earnest  minds  !  But,  as  the 
movement  which  they  originated  spread,  objects 
of  effort  multiplied.  The  traffic  in  drink  came 
more  fully  into  view.  The  politician,  critical, 
but  often  sympathetic,  emerged  on  the  scene. 
Richard    Cobden    expressed   a  widespread   senti- 

^  Philosophy  of  History,  Introduction. 


176  Present-Day  Problems. 

ment  when  he  declared  that  temperance  reform 
was  at  the  root  of  all  reform. 

Two  points  present  themselves  for  considera- 
tion. One,  the  personal  duty  of  Christian  man 
or  woman  as  to  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks 
as  beverages ;  the  other,  the  action  of  the 
citizenship,  or  of  the  State,  with  regard  to  the 
traffic  in  such  drinks. 

All,  of  course,  are  of  one  mind  in  condemning 
the  abuse.  And,  in  respect  of  that  which  consti- 
tutes the  abuse,  there  has  been  in  recent  years 
a  marked  progress  in  feeling.  The  convivialism 
that  was  general  in  the  upper  and  middle 
classes  not  a  century  ago  is  now  impossible. 
Ministers  of  State  do  not  make  speeches  after 
imbibing  a  bottle  of  port  wine.  Gentlemen  do 
not  drink  after  dinner  until  they  can  drink  no 
longer.  The  toper  in  whose  blood  alcohol  is 
always  swirling  is  now  a  marked  person  in  any 
circle  of  well-bred  persons.  Polite  society  insists 
that  its  members  shall  not  offend  the  unwritten 
law  of  sobriety ;  and,  whilst  on  festive  occasions 
costly  and  various  wines  are  circulated,  there  is 
no  pressure  to  partake  of  them.  Any  excess  is 
regarded  as  a  misdemeanour,  and  the  declinature 
to  partake  is  not  criticised.  A  public  opinion  has 
been  created  which,  laying  hold  of  the  classes,  has 
gradually  developed  this  change  of  habits ;  and  it 


Abstinence,  177 

is  argued  that  temperance  among  the  masses  will 
be  most  effectually  promoted  in  the  same  way. 
Not,  that  is,  by  drastic  measures  of  repression, 
but  —  as  the  consequence  of  better  education, 
better  homes,  and  increased  self-respect — by  the 
uprising  of  a  sentiment  which  will  stigmatise  in- 
temperance as  a  disgrace  to  the  intemperate  and 
an  outrage  on  the  community. 

So  far  this  contention  may  be  allowed.  But 
the  question  remains,  Whether  one  of  the  most 
potent  allies  in  promoting  the  condemnation  of 
the  abuse  which  is  desired  would  not  be  the 
example,  on  a  large  scale,  of  abstinence  from 
even  the  use  of  intoxicants  ?  Those  whose  posi- 
tion is  clearly  defined  have  a  freedom  of  hand 
and  voice  which  others  cannot  have.  To  many 
they  may  seem  to  be  intense,  even  fanatical ; 
nevertheless,  they  force  attention,  and  their  per- 
sistency, their  earnestness,  sustains  the  move- 
ment which  otherwise  might  lag.  A  strong 
temperance  sentiment,  with  a  distinct  platform, 
permeating  the  working  classes,  would  be  an 
immense  influence  in  uniting  their  ranks  against 
their  most  deadly  foe» 

The  platform  need  not  be  that  all  use  of 
strong  drink  is  sinful.  Very  few  can  adopt  a 
position  so  extreme.  But  many  may  and  do 
accept    another    position,    which    is    intelligible, 

M 


lyS  Pre  sent- Day  Problems. 

which  is  the  expression  of  a  genuine  Christian 
spirit,  and  which  may  be  held  in  perfect 
charity  with  others  who  do  not  accept  it — the 
position  that,  in  view  of  the  temptations  to 
which  multitudes  are  exposed,  of  the  misery 
and  shame  associated  with  the  quaffing  of 
ardent  spirits,  it  is  expedient,  in  the  exercise 
of  Christian  liberty,  to  forego  a  right  to  the 
use,  not  merely,  perhaps  not  at  all,  for  personal 
safety,  but  rather  for  the  sake  of  others,  so 
that  the  protection  and  helpfulness  of  the 
covenant  of  Christian  brotherhood  may  be  more 
effectually  realised,  and  the  protest  against  in- 
dulgences which  lead  to  intemperance  may  be 
emphasised.  On  the  matter  of  personal  duty, 
every  man  must  be  fully  assured  in  his  own 
mind,  interpreting  his  attitude  not  by  mere 
likings  or  dislikings,  but  by  the  law  of  the 
spirit  of  the  life  in  Christ  Jesus.  Intemperate 
speech  on  the  part  both  of  abstainer  and  of 
non  -  abstainer  should  be  avoided ;  all  judging 
this  rather  that  they  should  "  strive  in  offices 
of  love  to  lighten  each  other's  burden  in  their 
share  of  woe." 

The  traffic  in  spirituous  liquors,  and  the  licens- 
ing laws  by  which  this  traffic,  as  a  monopoly, 
is  controlled,  are  part  of  the  most  urgent  and 
difficult  subjects  of  the  day.     It  is  admitted  by 


Legislative  Reform.  1 79 

persons  of  all  shades  of  political  opinion  that 
some  fresh  legislation  is  called  for.  The  points 
in  which  both  the  majority  and  the  minority 
reports  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Licensing 
Laws  are  agreed  may  be  fairly  held  to  express 
the  moderate  yet  earnest  British  mind.  And 
they  are  such  as  these :  That  the  present  law 
needs  to  be  "  consolidated  and  simplified  "  ;  that 
the  licensing  authority  needs  to  be  reconstituted, 
and  its  powers  to  be  at  once  more  fully  defined 
and  amphfied;  that  beer-houses  and  fully  licensed 
public-houses  should  be  subjected  to  more  watch- 
ful review,  should  be  more  strictly  regulated,  and 
their  number  should  be  greatly  reduced ;  that 
sales  of  intoxicants  to  children  should  be  for- 
bidden ;  that  the  closing  of  houses  on  Sunday 
should  be  extended ;  that  powers  of  arrest  for 
drunkenness  should  be  increased,  with  penalties 
to  be  imposed  on  those  who,  knowing  of  the 
drunkenness,  allow  any  one  to  remain  on  the 
premises;  that  habitual  drunkenness  should  be 
treated  as  persistent  cruelty,  subjecting  the  cul- 
prit to  the  law  of  the  land,  and  entitling  wife  and 
children  to  separation  and  protection.  All  who 
acknowledge  the  necessity  of  some  reform  may 
be  regarded  as  in  substantial  unanimity  thus 
far.  But  the  differences  appear  when  any  prac- 
tical   measure   is    proposed.      Governments    are 


i8o  Present- Day  Problems. 

afraid  to  submit  bills  to  Parliament.  They 
have  usually  burnt  their  fingers  in  doing  so. 
Either  they  have  not  satisfied  the  more  ardent, 
or,  in  the  attempt  to  do  this,  they  have  offended 
the  more  cautious ;  and  there  are  so  many  plat- 
forms claiming  to  be  considered  that  they  have 
run  the  gauntlet  of  an  unsparing  criticism.  They 
have  been  brought  always  into  collision  with  a 
compact  body  organised  for  opposition  to  any 
course  which  threatened  to  interfere  with  the 
interests  of  the  trade.  For,  the  ''  Wine,  Spirit, 
and  Beer  Association"  is  enormously  strong; 
so  strong  that  Lord  Rosebery  has  gone  so  far 
as  to  say  that  "if  the  State  does  not  soon 
control  the  liquor  traffic,  the  liquor  traffic  will 
control  the  State." 

In  these  circumstances,  what  is  the  patriotic, 
the  magnanimous,  attitude  of  Christian  citizen- 
ship ?  Without  presuming  to  dogmatise,  it 
seems  to  be,  the  closing  of  the  ranks  over  such 
proposals  as  commend  themselves  to  the  largest 
number  of  those  who  desire  a  real  and  sub- 
stantial social  reform.  Division  only  creates 
the  opportunity  for  such  as  oppose  all  reform, 
and  postpones  indefinitely  the  prospect  of  any 
satisfactory  legislation.  Prohibitionists,  local 
vetoists,  and  threefold  optionists,  may  well  re- 
solve to  hold  their  flags  in  reserve,  and  in  the 


Union  in  Effort.  i8i 

meantime  join  with  moderate  men,  who  are 
doubtful  as  to  these  flags,  in  securing  what  all 
can  agree  to  press  now.  Nor  need  they  mani- 
fest an  undue  pertinacit}^  on  such  an  issue  as  the 
compensation  of  licence-holders  when  the  licence, 
for  no  alleged  fault,  is  taken  away.  If  the  legal 
right  is  not  asserted ;  if,  in  consideration  of  the 
conditions  and  expectations  which  have  grown 
up  under  the  educative  influence  of  law,  an 
allowance  is  made,  as  a  matter  of  grace  and 
expediency,  not  of  right ;  if  this  allowance  is  not 
made  good  by  any  taxation,  but  simply  out  of 
the  trade  itself;  it  does  look  like  stubbornness 
to  reject  a  compromise  by  which  the  co-opera- 
tion of  many  good  and  true  men  is  assured. 
Half-way  measures  are  sometimes  obnoxious  to 
those  who  are  whole-hearted  in  the  advocacy 
of  views  which  they  conscientiously  hold ;  but 
it  is  a  gain  to  get  half-way  :  the  half  must  be 
reached  before  the  whole  way  is  travelled ;  and 
the  refusal  to  act  with  others  unless  all  that  is 
contended  for  is  granted  will  prevent  the 
attainment  of  even  the  half-way ;  will  keep  the 
matter  where  it  has  been  for  years — unsettled, 
and  every  attempt  at  a  settlement  frustrated. 

Now,  the  recommendations  of  Lord  Peel  and 
the  minority  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Licens- 
ing form  the  basis  of  a  new  national  movement 


1 82  Present-Day  P^'oblems. 

in  furtherance  of  temperance  reform.  They  differ 
from  the  recommendations  of  the  majority  in 
several  important  respects.  They  are  more  de- 
finite. They  are  less  encumbered  by  restrictions 
and  reservations.  They  give  more  power  to  the 
licensing  authority.  They  are  tentative,  allowing 
the  experience  of  a  period  of  seven  or  five  years 
to  guide  as  to  further  action.  They  deny  any  legal 
right  to  compensation  ;  they  contemplate  an 
allowance  to  the  publican  whose  licence  would 
cease,  under  the  arrangement  by  which  **  on " 
licences  would  be  reduced  in  the  ratio  of  i  to 
750  in  towns,  and  i  to  400  in  country  districts, 
for  so  much  of  the  seven  years'  or  five  years' 
period  of  whose  gains  he  is  deprived,  but  this 
not  from  a  public  rate,  only  out  of  a  fund  raised 
by  an  annual  levy  on  the  other  licence -holders. 
At  the  end  of  the  seven  years,  or,  in  Scotland, 
the  five  years,  no  allowance  would  be  made ;  the 
number  of  "on"  drinking-houses  would  be  re- 
duced by  more  than  a  half;  and  a  fuller  re- 
vision of  the  licensing  system  in  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  obtained  would  be  possible.  In 
support  of  this  scheme,  might  not  reformers, 
whatever  their  peculiar  positions  in  the  army  of 
reform  may  be,  join  hands  and  agree  to  make 
common  cause  ?  If  all  that  every  one  desires  is 
not  interpreted  in  it,  much  that  every  one  desires 


Cotmter-attractions,  183 

is  ;  and  the  united  front,  in  behalf  of  a  measure 
that  is  not  associated  with  what  poHticians  might 
designate  fads,  would  go  far  in  carrying  the 
measure  through  the  parliamentary  ordeal.  There 
is  wisdom  in  the  advice  lately  tendered  by  the 
Bishop  of  Newcastle,  ''  Not  to  be  discouraged 
and  discountenanced  if  a  measure  which  may  be 
carried  does  not  come  up  to  all  expectation,  but 
to  make  the  best  of  what  is  possible  and  practic- 
able, and  then,  when  this  has  been  tested  and 
tried,  to  go  on  to  something  else  which  may  seem 
to  be  a  farther  advance  in  the  same  direction." 

Apart  from  legislative  action,  much  remains  to 
be  done  in  the  way  of  providing  counter-attrac- 
tions to  the  existing  public-house.  The  charm 
of  the  public-house  is  largely  owing  to  its  being 
a  place  where  men  can  congregate,  gratifying 
their  social  instincts,  and  breaking  the  dull 
monotony  of  their  life.  If  we  would  save  men 
from  the  dangerous,  we  must  supply  the  whole- 
some and  really  recreative  sociality.  Do  as  we 
will,  to  many  the  superior  place,  with  the  superior 
entertainment,  will  have  no  charm.  Those  who 
have  toiled  in  the  endeavour  to  reach  persons  who 
frequent  the  smaller  drinking-houses,  and  to  give 
them  a  better  variety  for  their  leisure  hours,  know 
how  disappointing  the  toil  is.  The  men  most 
wanted  prefer  to  smug  in  their  old  haunts.     But 


184  Present- Day  Problems, 

some  are  curable ;  and  there  is  the  prevention 
which  is  better  than  cure.  One  of  the  main 
objects  of  effort  is,  by  the  power  of  a  purer 
taste,  still  more  of  a  higher  affection,  to  keep 
the  manhood  and  the  womanhood  of  our  cities 
from  the  associations  of  the  house  licensed  for 
drink,  and  to  provide  amusements  and  interests 
which  can  make  existence  richer  and  brighter. 
People's  palaces,  cafes,  clubs,  &c.,  render  an  im- 
portant service.  There  is  a  touch  of  fine  satire 
in  the  excellent  proposal  of  Messrs  Rowntree 
and  Sherwell  to  hand  over  the  whole  profits  of 
the  liquor  traffic  in  a  locality  to  a  central  State 
authority,  and  to  make  an  annual  grant  from 
this  authority  for  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  recreation  centres,  whose  primary 
object  shall  be  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the 
drink  trafiic  —  the  ^oU  benefit  which  a  locality 
shall  receive  from  the  profits  of  the  traffic.^ 

In  the  forefront  of  the  circumstances  of  poverty 
is  the  nature  of  the  houses  in  which  the  poor 
live  their  life.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
wretched  dwelling,  with  all  its  attendant  features, 
is  largely  a  consequence  of  intemperance ;  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  also  that  it  is  largely  a 
cause   of   intemperance.      Where    food   is   insuf- 

^  The  Temperance  Problem  and  Social  Reform,  p.  590. 


The  HotLsing  of  the  Poo7\  185 

ficient,  where  squalor  reigns,  where  the  atmo- 
sphere is  vitiated  and  unwholesome,  the  craving 
to  get  out,  to  realise  some  additional  sensation, 
some  fuller  life,  leads  to  the  only  appreciated 
source  of  the  desired  stimulus.  And  a  reckless 
unconcern  for  all  except  the  gratification  of  the 
moment  is  a  concomitant  of  habitual  poverty. 
What  can  be  expected  of  those  whose  rearing  and 
whose  residence  are  in  garrets,  or  cellars,  or  fetid 
dens  —  places  in  which  all  that  protects  the 
modesty  of  woman,  that  educates  the  higher 
qualities  of  man,  that  supplies  the  necessities  of 
healthful  existence,  is  only  conspicuous  by  its 
absence  ?  The  only  result  to  be  looked  for  from 
such  surroundings  is  short,  sunless,  stunted,  de- 
graded lives — starvation  scarcely  kept  at  bay — 
rounded  by  a  pauper's  or  a  criminal's  grave. 

Let  us  review  for  a  moment  or  two  the  housing 
of  the  lower,  the  more  seamy,  side  of  the  popula- 
tion. Glasgow,  as  described  by  Sir  James  Bell 
and  Mr  Paton,  will  serve  as  our  illustration.  First, 
there  is  thrown  on  the  canvas  the  common,  or  the 
model,  lodging  -  house,  in  which  yearly  10,000 
persons  find  a  shelter —  *' the  hotel  of  the  very 
poor,  where  mingle  persons  of  all  nationalities, 
who  have  fallen  from  all  ranks,  and  from  posi- 
tions of  independence  and  responsibility,  tramps, 
tinkers,  labourers,  sweeps,  thieves,  and  thimble- 


1 86  Present- Day  Problems. 

riggers;  with  low  moral  tone,  and  habits  and 
sometimes  language  unclean."^  There,  at  a  rate 
not  exceeding  6d.  a  night,  sleep,  and  feed  as  best 
they  can,  these  motley  companies  of  the  wandering 
and  weary  of  foot.  Next,  the  impression  on  which 
the  eye  rests  is  that  of  "  the  farmed  house,"  taking 
the  place  of  the  furnished  house  of  the  better  cir- 
cumstanced citizen.  In  the  wynds,  lanes,  and 
back  properties  of  the  city  it  is  to  be  found :  its 
rooms  ''fitted  out  with  a  bed  or  beds,  some  bed- 
ding, a  table,  two  or  three  chairs,  a  grate,  a  kettle, 
a  pot,  and  a  little  crockery,"  let  at  rents  varying 
from  4s.  a-week  and  upwards."  Next,  comes  the 
one  -  roomed  house,  the  subject  of  Mr  Bright's 
graphic  picture  on  the  occasion  of  his  rectorial 
address  to  the  University  of  Glasgow.  More  than 
30,000  dwellings  with  one  room  exist  in  the  city, 
occupied  by  upwards  of  100,000  citizens,  paying 
on  an  average  a  rent  of  2s.  weekly — "  miserable 
dens  tenanted  for  the  most  part  by  a  class  almost 
as  migratory  as  that  in  the  lodging  -  houses."  ^ 
Finally,  the  eye  rests  on  ''  the  ticketed  house," 
having  not  more  than  three  apartments,  which,  by 
the  Police  Act  of  1866,  the  authorities  have  power 
to  enter  in  order  to  measure  its  cubic  contents. 

^  Glasgow :    Its    Municipal    Organisation    and    Administration, 
p.   192. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  193,  194.  3  i5i(j^  p_  jg^^ 


Improvement  in  Housing.  187 

If  these  contents  do  not  exceed  2000  cubic  feet, 
they  are  entitled  to  state  the  number  of  feet,  and 
the  number  of  sleepers  allowed  in  the  house 
according  to  the  prescribed  measurement,  on  a 
ticket  or  plate  fixed  to  the  door.  There  are 
25,000  such  ticketed  houses  in  various  districts, 
and  ''the  inspected  population  forms  an  army 
of  at  least  60,000,  in  which  are  the  bulk  of  the 
socially  dangerous  elements."  ^ 

Great  improvements  have  recently  been  effected. 
The  Police  Act  of  i8go  gave  the  police  commis- 
sioners authority,  on  the  report  of  the  medical 
officer,  the  sanitary  inspector,  and  the  master  of 
works,  to  declare  any  house  or  part  of  a  house 
to  be  unfit  for  human  habitation,  and  to  affix 
an  order  that  after  a  given  date  it  shall  cease 
to  be  inhabited,  the  proprietor  being  allowed  a 
right  of  appeal  to  the  sheriff.  Hundreds  of 
dwelling-houses  have  by  the  exercise  of  this 
authority  been  closed;  large  portions  of  streets 
have  been  demolished ;  and,  instead  of  the 
former  insanitary  tenements,  new  blocks  with 
airy  courts  and  passages  and  all  modern  ap- 
pliances have  been  erected.  The  Glasgow  cor- 
poration justly  claims  "to  have  accomplished  a 
great  work  in  lengthening  and  strengthening  the 

1  Glasgow:  Its  Municipal  Organisation  and  Administration, 
pp.  I95>  196. 


1 88  Present- Day  Problems, 

life    of    the    poor    and    making    their    condition 
more  bearable,  if  we  cannot  say  enjoyable."  ^ 

But  the  shadows  are  still  long  and  dark.  The 
population  in  many  parts  of  our  cities  is  too 
dense,  and  the  rate  of  mortality  is,  therefore, 
high.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  infantile 
mortality.  Glasgow  has  been  referred  to.  In 
illustration  of  the  death-rate  among  children,  let 
us  refer  to  Liverpool,  of  which  it  has  been  said, 
justly  or  unjustly,  that  "  it  is  the  most  un- 
wholesome place  for  little  children  in  the  whole 
country."  In  the  report  of  the  medical  officer 
of  health  for  1890,  it  is  stated  that  '*  the  range  of 
mortality  is  from  105  per  thousand  in  the  district 
where  it  is  the  lowest  up  to  260  per  thousand 
in  the  district  where  it  is  the  highest."  Allow- 
ing an  annual  death-rate  of  100  per  thousand  tO' 
be  unavoidable,  it  will  be  seen  that  in  some 
districts  (and  these  are  the  poorest)  there  is  a 
vast  amount  of  preventable  mortality.  An  in- 
vestigation into  the  circumstances  of  upwards 
of  1000  consecutive  deaths,  in  quarters  in  which 
infantile  death  was  excessive,  brought  out  that 
"in  21  per  cent  the  families  might  be  described 
as  extremely  and  exceptionally  dirty;  in  18  per 
cent  the  mothers  went  out  to  work,  leaving  the 

'  Glasgow:  Its  Municipal  Organisation  and  Administration,, 
P-   199. 


Child-life  in  the  Shims.  189 

infant  in  the  custody  of  others,  frequently  in 
the  custody  of  another  child  who  could  give  it 
no  proper  attention;  about  11  per  cent  of  the 
total  were  living  in  dwellings  unfit  for  human 
habitation ;  in  upwards  of  25  per  cent,  and 
these  are  the  cases  where  the  mortality  appears 
to  be  highest,  the  parents  were  markedly  in- 
temperate." The  results  thus  ascertained  as  to 
Liverpool  are  indicative  of  results  which,  though 
not  perhaps  to  the  same  extent,  have  been 
ascertained  as  to  other  cities.  Without  the 
sufficiency  of  warmth,  food,  air,  of  things  bright 
and  grateful,  which  nature  demands,  all  life  is 
pathetic ;  but  most  pathetic  is  child-life.  Merry 
often  is  the  romp  of  the  gutter  child,  playing 
in  the  foul  precinct  of  its  home  as  blithely  as 
the  more  favoured  and  fortunate ;  but  he  or 
she  who  plays  is  the  one  who  has  survived : 
how  many  are  taken  after  having  only  begun 
to  be !  how  many,  pinched  and  wan,  remind 
us  of  the  lines — 

"  They  are  weary  ere  they  run. 
They  have  never  seen  the  sunshine,  nor  the  glory 
Which  is  brighter  than  the  sun  ! "  ^ 

Good  houses,  with  good  environments,  for  all 
workmen,    and    especially    for    the    poor,    at    a 

1  The  Cry  of  the-  Children,  by  E.  B.  Browning. 


IQO  Present- Day  Pi^oblems. 

charge  which  will  allow  a  sufficient  margin  for 
things  requisite  to  vigorous  life — this  is  a  problem 
of  the  day.  High  ground-rents,  along  with  the 
price  of  labour  and  material,  and  the  amount 
needing  to  be  written  off  for  deterioration  of 
property,  make  it  one  difficult  to  solve.  Three 
kinds  of  agency  aiming  at  its  solution  may  be 
noticed. 

I.  Those  who  have  visited  the  Greater  Britain 
beyond  the  western  and  the  southern  seas  have 
been  led  to  contrast  the  comfort  and  inde- 
pendence of  the  working  classes,  able  through 
the  aid  of  building  and  land  societies  to  pur- 
chase and  own  their  homes,  with  the  condition 
of  their  brethren  in  the  old  Fatherland.  Build- 
ing and  dwelling  societies  do  not  build :  they 
make  advances,  repayable  by  instalments,  on 
real  property  in  land  or  in  house,  to  their 
members.  There  are  thousands  of  such  societies 
in  the  United  States.  By  means  of  the  facilities 
that  they  offer,  more  than  50,000  workmen  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  own  the  houses  in 
which  they  live.  In  Australia  also,  a  large  per- 
centage of  workmen,  by  the  same  aid,  enjoys 
the  same  privilege.  Birmingham  gave  a  lead  in 
the  United  Kingdom  in  1847  5  ^-^^d,  at  this  date, 
building  societies  in  England  can  be  numbered 
by  many  hundreds.     Unfortunately,  in  the  earlier 


The  Efforts  of  Practical  Philanthropy.     1 9 1 

period  of  the  movement,  some  societies  were 
not  sufficiently  safeguarded,  and  their  failure, 
besides  discrediting  the  cause,  frequently  in- 
volved their  members  in  serious  losses. 

2.  Philanthropy,  too,  has  taken  the  practical 
form  of  rearing  or  improving  homes  for  the  poor. 
In  London  alone,  nearly  five  millions  sterling, 
including  the  Peabody  gift,  have  been  thus 
spent,  and  a  sum  of  one  and  a  half  million 
has  been  recently  left  for  this  object.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  developments  of  benevo- 
lence in  this  direction  is  that  which  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  name  of  Octavia  Hill,  a  lady 
whose  zeal  has  been  always  balanced  by  a  rare 
practical  wisdom.  She  purchased  inferior  and 
insanitary  houses,  gutted  them,  put  them  in 
good  order,  abolished  professional  factorage,  and 
organised  a  staff  of  voluntary  collectors,  who, 
whilst  receiving  the  rent  each  month  or  week, 
became  also  the  friends  and  advisers  of  the 
family.  Her  desire  was  to  infuse  more  light, 
more  beauty,  more  sweetness  of  life  into  the 
houses.  Her  example  and  service  were  in- 
fectious :  many  tenements  in  Great  Britain,  on 
the  Continent,  in  America,  in  whose  ordering 
her  ideas  with  modifications  have  been  carried 
out,  contain  those  who  have  ample  reason  to 
call  her  blessed. 


192  Pre  sent- Day  Problems. 

3.  But  the  third  of  the  agencies  alluded  to  is 
the  State.  In  some  quarters,  a  demand  has 
been  loudly  articulated  that  the  civic  society 
shall  undertake  "the  compulsory  construction  of 
healthy  artisans'  and  agricultural  labourers'  dwell- 
ings in  proportion  to  the  population."  Now, 
much  has  been  done,  and  well  done,  by  cor- 
porations, such  as  Glasgow,  in  the  erection  of 
houses  on  approved  plans  and  having  rents  fixed 
at  moderate  rates  —  rates  that  do  little  more 
than  cover  the  interest  of  the  outlay  and  the 
unavoidable  tear  and  wear.  The  experiment 
has  been  hitherto  fairly  successful,  and  an 
object-lesson  in  the  right  way  of  house-building 
has  been  given.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that 
municipal  action  must  be  cautiously  and  pru- 
dently organised.  The  houses  that  it  erects 
must  be  provided  '*  only  in  places  where  they 
can  be  built  at  a  fair  profit " ;  and  there  are 
always  the  risks  of  change  in  the  suitableness  of 
localities  and  of  deteriorated  values.  But  for  the 
State,  the  Government  of  the  country,  to  become 
the  capitalist,  or  to  advance  the  capital  necessary 
for  providing  sufficient  and  good  lodging  for  all 
in  the  several  districts  of  the  country,  is  one  of 
the  impracticable  points  in  the  socialist  pro- 
gramme. The  most  that,  in  existing  circum- 
stances,  it.  can    do   i^   to   authprise.  giijd   enable 


Two  Desiderata  as  to  Housing.        193 

municipalities,  on  certain  conditions,  to  obtain 
loans  for  building,  extended  over  long  periods ; 
and,  in  the  interests  of  all  the  citizenship,  as  well 
as  in  those  of  the  working  class,  the  money  spent 
on  good  houses  is  well-spent  money.  The  bad 
house  in  the  close  slum  is  a  hotbed  of  disease. 
The  good  house  in  the  good  situation  means 
increase  of  strength  to  those  whose  labour  is 
essential  to  wealth,  and  is  a  gain,  from  a  sanitary 
point  of  view,  to  the  community. 

In  connexion  with  housing,  two  desiderata  are 
pressed.  The  one  is  decentralisation — by  procur- 
ing areas  at  some  distance  from  the  city  and  erect- 
ing on  them  cottage-homes,  or  houses  of  another 
type  than  the  barrack-tenement,  thus  providing 
fresh  air  for  the  inmates,  and  relieving  the  conges- 
tion of  residential  city  districts.  And  the  other 
— the  accompaniment  of  this — is  cheap  and  easy 
transport  for  workmen.  That  these  objects  are 
desirable,  none  will  doubt.  To  some  extent  they 
have  been  already  realised,  and  to  a  still  greater 
extent  they  could  be  realised.  But,  whilst  many 
might  avail  themselves  of  the  facilities  thus 
offered,  the  temporary  nature  of  employment  and 
the  complications  as  to  shifts  of  labour  must  pre- 
vent the  mass  of  labourers  from  moving  so  far 
afield.  Good  houses  near  the  scenes  of  toil,  with 
all  possible  helps  to  healthy  life,  and  with  such 

N 


194  Present- Day  Problems. 

supervision  as,  without  unduly  interfering  with 
liberty,  shall  ensure  that  the  houses  are  well 
kept  and  maintained,  are  an  urgent  necessity ; 
and  to  meet  this  necessity  should  be  one  of  the 
first  obligations  of  citizenship. 

But,  when  all  is  said  that  can  be  said  as  to 
better  houses  and  environments,  it  must  be  re- 
collected that  the  essential  element  in  the  problem 
is — the  better  people  for  the  house.  The  dwell- 
ing is,  undoubtedly,  a  most  important  auxiliary 
to  happy  and  righteous  living.  It  is  absolutely 
indispensable  to  wellbeing.  But  the  home  is 
more  than  the  house.  The  best  of  houses  may 
be  the  worst  of  homes  ;  the  worst  of  houses  ma}^ 
yet  have  something  at  least  of  the  air  of  a  home. 
For,  the  home  includes  the  character  of  the  in- 
mates, their  mutual  and  reciprocal  service  and 
kindness,  relations  sweetened  by  affection  and 
sympathy,  gentle  dispositions,  manners  promo- 
tive of  purity  in  thought  and  action.  Where 
these  things  are  and  abound,  the  humblest  fireside 
is  transformed  into  a  holy  place  :  in  the  peasant's 
hut,  in  the  one-  or  two-roomed  habitation,  there 
can  be  heard  "  the  melodies  of  the  everlasting 
chime."  This  may  seem  to  many  merely  a  part 
of  an  old  song;  but  the  old  songs  are  often  the 
interpretation  of  the  truest  feeling.  Anyhow, 
it  indicates  the  special  sphere  of  the   Christian 


The  CJmrch  and  the  Home,  195 

Church  and  its  ministry.  The  Church  associ- 
ates itself  with  all  that  tends  to  uplift  and  com- 
plete humanity,  with  every  endeavour  to  give 
additional  zest  and  brightness  to  life.  But  the 
province  that  is  peculiarly  its  own  is  the  building 
up  of  manhood  in  moral  vigour  and  in  spiritual 
elevation.  It  looks  to  the  home  more  than  the 
house ;  its  ideal  is  the  family  united  in  "  keeping 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and  judgment." 


196 


CHAPTER    X. 

PRESENT-DAY    PROBLEMS  :     LABOUR   AND   THE 
COMMONWEALTH — SOCIALISM. 

Pauperism  and  poverty,  the  seamy  side  of  social 
life,  formed  the  subject  of  the  two  last  chapters. 
But  the  consideration  of  the  duty  of  Christian 
citizenship  with  regard  to  them  is  met  by  a 
protest  which  is  loud  and  emphatic.  The  pro- 
test is  this :  "All  that  you  contemplate  will  not 
heal  the  hurt.  The  root  of  the  evil  is  left 
untouched;  the  seat  of  the  mischief  is  left 
unvisited.  The  ills  that  you  trace  are  not  on 
the  surface  of  society;  they  belong  to  the  in- 
terior; they  are  not  the  sign  of  maladjustments 
which  can  be  rectified  by  a  wise  and  far-reach- 
ing philanthropy;  they  are  the  consequence  of 
a  radical  unsoundness,  the  evidence  of  utterly 
wrong  and  false  conditions.  '  The  whole  head  is 
sick  and  the  whole  heart  is  faint'  because  the 
social  fabric   is  based   on,   and  is  reared  up  in. 


The  Protest  of  Socialism.  197 

injustice.  The  principles  and  the  apphcations 
of  its  economy  are  fatally  and  cruelly  unright- 
eous. Nothing  short  of  a  revolution,  in  respect 
of  all  that  forms  the  content  of  the  nation's 
government  and  wealth,  can  set  the  life  of  the 
people  right.  Without  this,  all  that  you  pro- 
pose or  can  propose  will  be  a  mere  fiddle- 
faddling  with  the  misery  you  seek  to  relieve ; 
in  and  by  this,  and  in  and  by  this  alone,  can 
there  be  a  real  and  permanent  improvement. 
'  Small  measures  do  not  merely  produce  small 
effects ;  they  produce  no  effect  at  all.'  Go  to 
the  root  of  the  matter ;  nothing  but  a  new  era, 
bringing  in  a  new  political  and  social  constitu- 
tion, will  cure  the  fever  -  sores  that  are  now 
malignant,  and  that  are  bound,  in  ever-increas- 
ing malignity,  to  spread." 

This  protest  interprets  that  mass  of  opinion 
which  is  usually  designated  Socialistic.  The 
term  Socialism  has  not  been  in  current  use  for 
more  than  between  sixty  and  seventy  years,^  but 
the  ideas  that  it  crystallises  have,  in  a  kind 
of  nebulous  form,  influenced  minds  in  all  ages. 
They    found    expression    in    the    democracy    of 

1  "  It  is  a  disputed  point  whether  it  first  arose  in  the  school  of 
Owen,  or  was  invented  by  Pierre  Leroux,  the  author  of  a  system 
known  as  '  Humanilarianisn,'  or  had  for  author  Louis  Rebaud,  a 
well-known  publicist  and  a  severe  critic  of  socialism."— Flint  on 
Socialism,  p.   ii. 


198  Present- Day  Proble7ns. 

Greece,^  and  in  both  the  RepubHc  and  the 
Empire  of  Rome.  In  the  ecclesiastical  system 
of  the  middle  ages — with  its  monastic  brother- 
hoods and  its  religious  orders,  with  the  guilds 
and  fraternities  that  it  sanctioned,  even  the 
feudalism  that  flourished  in  its  midst  —  there 
were  anticipations  of  the  theories  with  which 
we  are  familiar.  But  these  theories  assumed 
more  distinct  proportions  towards  the  dawn  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  The  way  for  them  had 
been  prepared  by  the  French  Encyclopaedists, 
and  by  authors  of  varying  hues  of  thought. 
Rousseau  had  sung  the  praises  of  a  state  of 
nature  when  there  was  no  private  property  on 
the  earth,  and  when  all  men  were  equal. 
Babceuf"  had  propounded  the  scheme  that 
may  be  regarded  as  the  rough  draft  of  de- 
veloped socialism — the  scheme  of  a  democracy 
in  which  all  inequalities  shall  be  abolished,  all 
superfluities  cut  off,  and  all  property  transferred 
to  Government,  to  be  distributed  to  every  citizen 

1  "  The  Greek  theory,  though  it  likewise  regards  the  State  as  a 
means  to  certain  ends,  regards  it  as  something  more.  According  to 
it,  no  department  of  life  is  outside  the  scope  of  politics  ;  and  a 
healthy  State  is  at  once  the  end  at  which  the  science  aims,  and  the 
engine  by  which  its  decrees  are  carried  out." — The  Greek  Theory 
of  the  State.     By  Charles  John  Shebbeare. 

'-^  The  Christian  name  was  Joseph.  Inasmuch  as  he  had  no 
admiration  of  the  Joseph  of  Scripture,  he  renounced  the  name  and 
substituted  for  it  Caius  Gracchus. 


History  of  Socialisvi.  1 99 

according  to  his  need.  These  conceptions  of 
civil  society  and  its  structure  and  objects  were 
stirring  the  thoughts  of  men  before  the  French 
Revolution,  and  during  its  stormy  period  in 
1793.  And  thereafter,  in  Saint  Simon,  Proud- 
hon,  Fourier,  Louis  Blanc,  and  others,  French 
socialism  was  provided  with  an  eloquent  advo- 
cacy and  an  active  missionary  propaganda. 

But  it  was  not  until  the  nineteenth  century 
was  well  advanced  that  this  type  of  view  as- 
sumed a  distinct  economical  outline,  and  was 
embodied  in  distinct  organisations.  Prior  to 
that  date,  men  like  Robert  Owen  had  projected 
communistic  societies ;  and  ardent  spirits,  such 
as  Coleridge  and  Wordsworth,  during  the  brief 
period  of  their  enthusiasm  for  '*  liberated 
France,"  had  sketched  ideal  pantisocracies. 
But  it  was  after  Waterloo  had  been  fought,  it 
was  when  Europe  was  suffering  from  depres- 
sions and  reactions  subsequent  to  long  years  of 
war,  unrest,  and  drainage  of  resources,  that  the 
master  minds  of  the  new  movement  appeared. 
And  not  France,  but  Germany,  gave  the 
mightiest  impulse  —  the  chief  priests  of  the 
movement    being     Karl     Marx  ^    and     Lassalle,^ 

1  Born  at  Treves,  in  1818. 

2  Born  at  Breslau,  in  1825.  The  epitaph  on  his  tomb  is 
''Ferdinand  Lassalle,  thinker  and  fighter." 


200  Present-Day  Problems. 

both  of  them  of  Jewish  origin.  They  had  im- 
bibed the  teaching  of  the  new  HegeHan  school 
of  Philosophy ;  and  they  fittingly  represented 
Germany — *'  too  thorough,"  as  Marx  says,  "  to 
be  able  to  revolutionise  without  revolutionising 
from  a  fundamental  principle,  and  following  that 
principle  to  its  utmost  limits."  "  Therefore," 
as  he  adds,  ''  the  emancipation  of  Germany  will 
be  the  emancipation  of  man.  The  head  of  this 
emancipation  is  philosophy,  its  heart  is  the  pro- 
letariat." ^  Marx  expounded  the  fundamental 
principle;  he,  Lassalle,  and  their  allies  were 
ready  to  follow  it  to  its  utmost  limits.  What 
the  principle  is  and  what  the  limits  are,  all 
can  read,  mark,  and  learn  in  the  Bible  of 
the  Socialist — the  treatise  of  Marx  on  Capital. 

When  we  turn  to  Great  Britain,  we  can  dis- 
cern a  preparation  for  the  theories  thus  system- 
atised  in  habitudes  of  philosophical  thought 
which  were  developed  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  in  certain  social  features  which  the  era  of 
mechanical  invention  ushered  in. 

From  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century  many  streams  of  tendency  issued,  whose 
effect  was  to  modify  both  ethical  and  political 
opinion.  A  more  liberal  spirit  had  been  infused 
into  the  popular    theologies;    the  scepticism   of 

1  Article  in  the  *  Deutsche  Franzosische  Jahrbiicher. 


Political  Philosophy,  2  o  i 

Hume  had  '*  coldly  towed  "  the  age  towards 
abysses  from  which,  nevertheless,  it  drew  back  ; 
the  empirical  character  of  the  Scottish  school  of 
philosophy  had  obtained  a  vogue;  the  influence 
of  the  destructive  theories  that  originated  in 
France  had  been  widely  operative  ; — these  forces, 
combined  with  a  more  vivid  perception  of  poli- 
tical and  social  injustice,  helped  to  form  a  body 
of  thought  which,  rejecting  a  priori  and  metaphys- 
ical notions,  made  experience  a  guide,  and  utility 
the  standard  both  of  public  and  of  private  action. 
The  patriarch  of  this  school  was  Jeremy  Ben- 
tham,  who  borrowed  from  Priestley  the  cele- 
brated phrase,  *'  The  greatest  happiness  of  the 
greatest  number,"  ^  and  accepted  it  and  applied 
it  "  as  a  plain  as  well  as  true  standard  for  what- 
ever is  right  or  wrong,  useful,  useless,  or  mis- 
chievous in  human  conduct,  whether  in  the  field 
of  morals  or  of  politics."  Keeping  in  view  the 
end  indicated  in  this  phrase,  Bentham  insisted  on 
the  need  of  a  thorough,  a  root-and-branch,  reform 
of  laws  and  methods  of  administration ;  and  his 
contention  was  enforced  and  extended  by  his 
followers,  the  foremost  of  whom  was  James  Mill. 
They  provided  *'  a  political  philosophy  for  radical 
reformers,"  and  their  philosophy  rapidly  spread. 

1  The    phrase    is   sometimes   ascribed    to    Ilutcheson,  and   it   is 
traced  lo  Ilelvetius. 


202  Present-Day  P7'obleins. 

In  important  respects,  it  differed  from,  yet  by 
the  diffusion  of  its  main  ideas  it  prepared  the 
way  for,  sociaHsm.  Utihtarians  of  the  earher 
period  held  that  ''  all  Government  is  one  vast 
evil."  This  also  is  the  contention  of  the  ex- 
treme socialistic  anarchist ;  but  they  held  that  it 
is  a  necessary  evil,  and  that  it  needs,  not  to  be 
abolished,  but  to  be  prevented  from  doing  harm 
by  regulation.  They  anticipated  the  view  of  the 
socialist  so  far  as  to  affirm  that,  under  control, 
the  State  might  act  on  the  whole  life  of  the 
people;  but  ''a  tendency  towards  State  social- 
ism Bentham  would  have  detested  above  all 
things,  and  yet  that  is  the  direction  inevitably 
taken  by  supreme  authority  where  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  greater  happiness  of  the  greater 
number  is  imposed  upon  it  by  popular  demand."^ 
They  looked  on  mankind  as  a  unity,  they  re- 
garded the  collective  more  than  the  individual 
good,  and  urged  that  the  individual  must  give 
way  to  *'  the  greater  number  "  ;  but,  whilst  to  this 
extent  socialistic,  they  favoured  competition,  in- 
sisted on  the  liberty  of  the  individual,  and  main- 
tained the  inevitable  operation  of  economic  laws. 
To  them,  the  chief  function  of  the  State  was  the 
protection  of  the  subject ;  any  movement  be- 
yond this  line  they  regarded  with  jealousy.     But, 

^  Edinburgh  Review,  April  1901. 


English  Utilitarianism.  203 

although  differing  at  vital  points  from  socialistic 
doctrine,  English  utilitarianism  prepared  for  it. 
It  emphasised  utility  as  the  one  mark  of  light 
to  which  all  else  is  subordinate,  and  by  regard  to 
which  all  else  must  be  adjusted.  It  held  up 
social  happiness  as  the  end  to  be  promoted, 
often  through  the  sacrifice  of  the  unit ;  and  by 
its  denunciation  of  social  injustices  and  inequali- 
ties, and  its  insistence  on  justice  as  the  one  con- 
dition of  wellbeing,  it  disposed  towards  sympathy 
with  a  voice  which  quivered  with  the  passion  for 
justice  to  the  exploited  multitudes.^ 

But  with  the  advance  of  the  nineteenth  century 
intellectual  and  political  apprehensions  assumed  a 
more  earnest  and  spiritual  tone.  The  utilitar- 
ianism of  Bentham  and  James  Mill  was  frigid  and 
feeble.  It  scarcely  recognised  a  motive  higher 
than  an  enlightened  social  selfishness.  Its  only 
certainties  were  empirical.  It  gave  no  final  au- 
thority to  religion.  Its  swnmtim  bonum,  as  Arnold 
pointed  out,  is  not  identical  with  human  life. 
And  thus,  whilst  it  did  good  service  in  quickening 
the  conscience  of  the  nation  as  to  righteousness, 
and  in  pointing  to  needed  reconstructions,  "  it 
achieved  little  success  in  the  enterprise  of  pro- 
viding new  and  firmer  guidance  and  support  to 

1  'The  English  Utilitarians,'  by  Leslie  Stephen,  gives  an  admir- 
able history  and  criticism  of  Utilitarianism. 


204  Present-Day  Problems. 

mankind  in  their  troubles  and  perplexities  "  ^  A 
more  potent  breath  was  required  to  fill  the  sails ; 
and  this  breath  came  firom  three  sources.  From 
the  region  of  abstract  thought, — through  the  deeper 
hold  which  the  idealism  interpreted  by  Coleridge 
gained,  and  ultimately  through  the  spread  of 
Hegelian  conceptions  among  select  but  ardent 
minds,  largely  due  to  the  magnetic  power  of  the 
late  J.  H.  Green  of  Oxford.  From  the  political 
world, — through  the  disappearance  of  statesmen 
of  the  type  of  Lord  Melbourne,  and  the  ascend- 
ancy of  men  who  felt  the  reality  of  the  two 
nations  in  Great  Britain — the  nation  in  and  the 
nation  out,  the  nation  rich  and  the  nation  poor — 
and  the  necessity  of  realising  the  harmony  that 
might  quench  the  discords.  And,  finally,  from  the 
Church  of  Christ, — in  consequence  of  a  revival 
of  religious  and  moral  life.  The  rationalism 
which  had  dried  up  the  channels  of  enthusiasm 
was  shaken  off.  A  new  enthusiasm  for  Christ  was 
a  new  enthusiasm  of  humanity.  A  freer,  broader 
view  of  His  relation  to  mankind,  and  of  the  re- 
lation of  men  through  Him  to  God  and  to  one 
another,  opened  up  vistas  both  into  the  truth  and 
the  worth  of  personal  life,  and  into  the  solidarity 
of  the  race  headed  in  the  Son  of  Man.  Measured 
by  the  vision  of  the  Incarnate  Lord,  injustices, 

^  Edinburgh  Review,  April  1901. 


Tendencies  in  the  direction  of  Socialism.    205 

oppressions,  excessive  competitions  of  man  against 
man,  stood  in  broad  relief,  as  not  only  wrongs, 
but  as  crimes  and  sins — denials  of  the  brother- 
hood which  is  rooted  in  the  sonship  of  men  to 
the  one  Eternal  Father.  It  was  this  spirit  of  life 
that  led  to  the  endeavours  after  co-operation 
which  Mr  Maurice  and  Judge  Hughes  so  strenu- 
ously promoted,  and  to  the  sympathy  with  the 
miseries  which  the  Chartist  riots  of  1848  revealed 
— a  sympathy  which  Charles  Kingsley  with  fierce, 
wild  eloquence  interpreted  in  '  Alton  Locke.'  It 
is  this  spirit  of  life  that  is  the  inspiration  of  the 
phase  of  socialism  (if  the  name  can  with  strict 
propriety  be  given  to  it)  that  is  distinguished  as 
Christian. 

Thus,  climates  of  judgment  and  feeling  were 
caused  to  which  the  exposure  of  unjust  and  de- 
graded life- conditions  appealed,  and  by  which, 
even  when  the  economic  platform  of  the  socialist 
was  declined,  a  mental  inclination  was  developed 
towards  the  interventions  of  society,  in  its  or- 
ganised form, — the  State,— which  the  socialist 
advocated. 

Now,  besides  the  poverty  and  untowardness  of 
lot  which  the  Bread  Riots  and  the  Chartist  con- 
spiracies of  the  earlier  half  of  the  last  century  evi- 
denced, fostering  an  acuteness  of  discontent  which 
gave   increased   impetus   to   revolutionary   ideas, 


2o6  Present-Day  Problems. 

the  discovery  and  application  of  steam-power, 
with  all  the  inventions  introduced  in  connexion 
with  this  power,  tended  to  a  wider  separation  of 
the  two  nations  referred  to.  The  gap  between 
the  master  and  the  workman  thus  created  did 
not  exist  in  an  earlier  day.  Master,  journeyman, 
and  apprentice,  were  nearer  each  other  in  circum- 
stances and  in  toil.  They  were  visibly  associated 
in  the  production  for  which  all  together  laboured ; 
and  the  work  had  more  of  a  human  interest  in  it. 
There  was  less  specialisation.  The  labourer  was 
a  work-man,  not  a  work-hand.  When  the  loom 
was  guided  by  the  hand,  weavers  were  compara- 
tively independent  persons  :  in  the  village  or  the 
county  town  many  of  them  plied  their  task,  hav- 
ing their  game  at  quoits  when  the  pause  in  the 
day's  work  occurred,  and  discussing  with  one 
another  things  great  and  small  in  Religion  and 
in  Politics.  The  weaver  was  an  individualist, 
often  an  opinionative  Radical.  All  this  was 
changed  when  mechanical  power  came  into  use, 
and  one  machine  could  do  the  work  of  hundreds 
of  men.  The  reign  of  capital  and  of  the  capi- 
talist began ;  colossal  mills  and  factories  were 
started,  whose  heads  were  separated  by  a  great 
gulf  from  their  employes.  Warning  voices  had 
been  sounded  at  the  first  stages  of  this  new  de- 
parture.     Robert  Owen    prophesied   that   steam 


Social  Results  of  Indztstrial  Machinery.    207 

machinery  would  degrade  and  impoverish  the 
working  classes.  De  Tocqueville  bade  men  keep 
their  eyes  anxiously  in  the  direction  of  modern 
manufactures ;  for,  he  said,  *'  if  ever  a  permanent 
inequality  of  condition  and  aristocracy  again  pene- 
trate into  the  world,  it  may  be  predicted  that  this 
will  be  the  channel  by  which  they  will  enter."  ^ 
It  seemed  as  if  these  anticipations  were  being 
fulfilled  as  the  century  proceeded.  "  The  robust 
Saxon,"  exclaimed  Emerson,  "  degenerates  in  the 
mills  to  the  Leicester  stockinger,  to  the  imbecile 
Manchester  spinner — far  on  the  way  to  be  spiders 
and  needles."  ^  The  specialisation  which  was 
developed  turned  work  into  a  cheerless  drudgery, 
in  which  there  was  little  to  interest  the  mind,  and 
no  prospect  except  an  everlasting  grind  at  the 
one  thing.  And,  at  the  opposite  pole,  was  the 
master  and  owner  of  the  machinery,  personating 
a  new  type  of  aristocracy  very  different  from  the 
type  of  the  old.  The  old  nobility  for  the  most 
part  lived  among  their  tenantry.  The  relations 
between  them  and  their  tenantry  were  not  wholly 
commercial.  There  were  many  interchanges  of 
personal  feeling :  kindly  relations  were  often  an 
inheritance  from  past  generations  ;  there  was  a 
common  fund  of  associations,  local  and  historical. 

^  Democracy  in  America,  Book  IT.  chap.  xx. 
2  English  Traits,  p.  240. 


2o8  Present-Day  Problems. 

"  The  estate  "  was  a  subject  of  pride  and  interest 
alike  to  tenant  and  to  peer  or  squire,  and  a  reci- 
procity of  services  of  various  kinds  linked  the 
family  in  the  hall  or  castle  to  all  the  families  on 
the  estate.  But  this  new  aristocracy  was  com- 
mercial in  all  its  attitudes  to  the  workers  em- 
ployed. By  the  exaction  of  the  toil,  and  the 
payment  of  the  wages,  the  bond  was  fulfilled.  In 
many  cases,  the  bond  was  exceeded,  and  acts  of 
consideration  and  benevolence  were  performed. 
But  it  was  an  excess  of  that  which  was  accepted 
as  the  contract.  The  mill-lords,  the  cotton  or 
iron  aristocrats,  rose  to  the  heights  of  opulence, 
and  only  occasionally  did  they  stoop  from  their 
heights  to  survey  the  condition  of  those  by  whose 
labour  they  were  made  wealthy.  Nor  has  the  posi- 
tion improved ;  in  some  respects,  it  has  become 
worse  rather  than  better.  It  was  possible  to  im- 
press the  new  aristocracy  in  the  earlier  period 
with  a  sense  of  moral  responsibility  for  those 
whom  they  employed,  and  the  illustrations  of  this 
sense  of  responsibility  were  frequently  noble.  But 
limited  liability  companies,  syndicates  of  many 
sorts,  have  become  the  order  of  the  day ;  and  to 
these,  as  such,  the  one  concern  is  the  dividend. 

Now,  all  this  marks  one  of  those  changes  in 
social  estate  as  to  which  Mr  Lecky  says,  that  "  in 
widening  the  chasm  and  impairing  the  sympathy 


Social  Separations.  209 

between  rich  and  poor  they  cannot  fail,  however 
beneficial  may  be  their  effects,  to  bring  with  them 
grave  dangers  to  the  State.  It  is  incontestable," 
he  adds,  **that  the  immense  increase  of  manufac- 
turing population  has  had  this  tendency."  ^  And 
we  need  not  limit  our  view  to  the  manufacturing 
element.  In  recent  years,  another  class  has  been 
largely  augmented — the  class  of  those  who  amass 
wealth  by  combinations,  rings,  pools,  speculations 
of  one  kind  and  another,  whose  fortunes  are  not 
made  through  capital  going  to  support  productive 
labour — rendering  the  separation  of  wealth-land 
still  more  harsh,  and  the  inequality  still  more 
glaring. 

Add  to  the  impression  some  concomitants  of 
the  alterations  in  social  life  effected  during  the 
bygone  century.  The  rush  from  the  rural  dis- 
tricts into  the  great  centres  of  industrial  activity 
depleted  the  country,  congested  the  town,  and  is 
the  cause  of  the  constant  tendency  of  a  large 
section  to  poverty — the  section  that  is  composed 
of  those  whose  means  of  livelihood  are  irregular 
and  uncertain,  and  of  those  the  nature  of  whose 
employments  subjects  them  to  risks  of  accident 
to  limb  and  to  loss  of  health.  And  the  amount  of 
child-labour,  which  is  a  result  of  the  competition 
of  modern  industry,  threatens  to  injure  the  phys- 

1  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  vol.  ii.  p.  693. 
O 


2IO  Present-Day  Problems. 

ical  and  moral  tone  of  the  community.  In  work- 
shops, in  home  industries,  on  the  streets,  thousands 
of  children  are  daily  at  work.  The  law  of  the 
land,  indeed,  protects  them.  Ten  Acts  bearing 
on  this  protection  stood  in  the  Statute  -  Book 
sixty  years  ago :  the  ten  have  been  multiplied  ten 
times.  But,  notwithstanding  all  the  protection  as 
to  age,  manner,  and  hours  of  employment,  the  fact 
remains  that  children  earning  wages,  sometimes 
in  addition  to  the  work  of  school,  are  pressed  into 
services,  even  in  evasion  of  the  law.  In  purchasing 
the  evening  newspaper  from  the  boy  or  the  girl 
who  offers  it,  we  little  think  of  what  this  one  item 
—street-hawking — signifies.  A  Manchester  school 
board  reports  that  66  per  cent  of  the  children 
committed  to  industrial  schools  is  composed  of 
street  -  hawkers  ;  and  magistrates  and  police 
officials  have  again  and  again  reminded  us  that 
this  child-work  tends  to  form  habits  of  loafing, 
and  to  destroy  the  aptitude  for  continuous  and 
strenuous  effort. 

The  influence  of  such,  and  of  many  other, 
features  in  producing  the  discontent  that  is 
the  ally  of  sociaHsm  is  obvious.  Karl  Marx 
went  to  London  in  1850,  and  there  he  resided 
for  years.  The  immediate  result  of  his  mission 
was  not  encouraging.  He  agitated,  he  wrote 
pamphlets :    in    1864,   on   the   formation    of   the 


Socialistic  Ormnisations. 


^>' 


21  I 


International  Working  Men's  Association,  he 
raised  the  battle-cry  of  an  earlier  time,  "  Pro- 
letarians of  all  nations,  unite ! "  His  labour 
seemed  to  be  in  vain.  The  association  was 
short-lived.  Sick  at  heart,  he  retired  to  Paris, 
where  he  died  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his 
age.  But  the  seed  that  he  sowed,  and  that  ap- 
parently had  died,  was  quickened.  Out  of  the 
ruins  of  the  Working  Men's  Association  arose, 
in  1881,  the  Social  Democratic  Federation.  The 
efforts  that  had  preceded  it  in  England  were 
wanting  *'in  the  fundamental  principle,"  and  in 
*'  the  purpose  to  carry  that  to  its  utmost  limits." 
The  new  federation  was  thorough :  and  eager 
spirits — such  as  the  poet  Morris,  Hyndman, 
Dr  Aveling,  Marx's  son-in-law,  and  the  Rev. 
Stewart  Headlam — rallied  around  it.  It  had  a 
brief  career  of  prosperity,  and  then  it  was  split 
into  two  parties  —  the  seceding  party,  led  by 
Morris,  forming  the  Socialist  League.  From 
that  league  also  Morris  at  a  later  date  seceded. 
In  Scotland,  one  socialistic  society  inclined  to 
the  confederation,  and  another  to  the  league. 

In  the  present  day,  there  are  several  organisa- 
tions— Labour  Leagues,  &c. — propagating  social- 
istic tenets,  conspicuous  among  which  is  the 
Fabian  Society,  including  persons  of  more  or 
less  pronounced  views,  whose  tracts  and  essays 


212  Present-Day  Problems, 

are  widely  circulated.  The  most  influential  of 
all  agencies  is  the  New  Unionism,  which  has 
largely  captured  trades-unions.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  socialism  which  finds  a 
variety  of  expression  in  Great  Britain,  on  the 
Continent,  in  the  United  States,  is  an  im- 
portant factor  in  social  life,  and  one  to  be 
anxiously  scrutinised.  What  is  it  ?  What  does 
it  inculcate  ?  What  are  its  "  utmost  limits  "  ? 
What  are  the  good  and  the  evil,  the  beneficial 
and  the  dangerous,  elements  in  it?  What  in  it 
is  to  be  resisted  ?  What  is  to  be  utilised  ? 
These  are  questions  which  the  Church  must 
face  if  it  would  serve  its  generation.  The 
labour  problem,  with  all  that  adheres  to  it, 
is  one  of  the  problems  of  the  hour. 

Let  us  discriminate. 

I.  Is  socialism  to  be  regarded  as  the  inevitable 
consequence,  or  the  necessary  trend,  of  demo- 
cracy ?  That  it  is  so  is  the  assertion  of  many 
who  anticipate  the  downfall  of  what  they  style 
the  Botirgeoiste — the  society  whose  dominating 
element  is  that  of  the  middle -class  capitalist. 
Babceuf,  when  he  took  the  name  of  Caius 
Gracchus  and  formed  the  union  of  the  egatix, 
urged  that  a  real  democracy  can  attain  to  its 
ideal  only  by  means  of  socialism ;  and  German 
writers,  such  as  Stahl,  look  on  it  as  the  natural 


Socialism  and  De?)iocracy.  2 1 3 

terminus  of  democracy.  Now,  there  is  a  close 
alliance  between  the  two.  The  one,  indeed, 
postulates  the  other.  Its  theory  of  the  State 
must  be  a  democratic  theory.  At  its  core,  there 
is  the  conception  that  all  have  a  share  —  the 
extreme  view  is  an  equal  share — in  the  entire 
good  of  the  nation,  and  that  the  Government 
of  the  nation  should  be  organised  on  the  recog- 
nition of  this  common  interest,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  full  effect  to  it.  But,  as  has 
been  frequently  pointed  out,  it  depends  on  the 
nature  of  the  Government  and  the  conditions 
of  the  people  whether  the  movement  towards 
socialistic  distributions  shall  or  shall  not  be 
allowed  to  overbear  the  freedom  of  the  indi- 
vidual, and  shall  or  shall  not  be  so  controlled 
as  to  secure  the  utilities  which  Collectivism  can 
realise,  whilst  allowing  ample  scope  for  personal 
enterprise.  In  the  great  military  empires  of  the 
Continent,  democratic  feeling  is  bitterly  hostile 
to  the  actual  Government, — the  more  pronounced 
sentiment  is  bitterly  hostile  to  all  governments, 
— and  it  insists  on  a  radical  revolution  in  all 
that  concerns  the  State.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  the  United  States  of  America,  with  its  non- 
military  and  democratic  constitution,  the  idea 
on  which  the  executive  has  been  built  up  is 
that  its  aim  is  the  protection    of  the   individual 


214  Present- D ay  Proble7}is. 

citizen,  in  order  that  he  may  have  free  and  full 
play  for  his  energy,  and  that  he  may  have  the 
undisturbed  enjoyment  of  its  fruits.  There  are 
checks  on  the  possession  of  land,  but  there  are 
few  checks  on  commercial  and  industrial  opera- 
tion. The  one  thing  provided  for  is,  that  every 
man  shall  have  the  opportunity  of  doing  the 
best  he  can  for  himself  without  the  intervention 
of  the  powers  of  the  State.  And  though  social- 
istic tenets  have  a  following  which,  as  the  popu- 
lation increases  and  the  complexities  that  such 
an  increase  causes  multiply,  will  probably  be- 
come larger,  the  main  current  of  opinion  is 
strongly  anti-socialistic. 

The  position  is,  that  socialism  must  "  either 
mean  industrial  democracy  or  nothing."^  But 
democracy  as  a  form  of  government  does  not 
necessarily  involve  socialism.  Some  of  the 
most  strenuous  upholders  of  democracy  have 
repudiated  socialism.  De  Tocqueville,  for  ex- 
ample, put  the  issue  thus  in  the  French  Parlia- 
ment :  "  Democracy  extends  the  sphere  of 
individual  independence ;  socialism  contracts  it. 
Democracy  gives  every  individual  man  his  ut- 
most possible  value;  socialism  makes  every  man 
an  agent,  an  instrument,  a  cipher.  Democracy 
and  socialism  coincide  only  in  the  single  word 

1  John  Raskin  as  Social  Reformer,  p.  204. 


Socialism  and  Comnmnism.  2 1 5 

equality.  But  observe  the  difference.  Demo- 
cracy desires  equality  in  liberty ;  socialism  seeks 
equality  in  compulsion  and  servitude."  ^  With- 
out wholly  indorsing  this  statement,  it  may  be 
held  that,  though  the  democratic  apprehension 
of  society  demands  "  a  self-government  in  which 
the  whole  of  the  self,  the  organic  experience 
and  judgment  of  the  whole  rational  system, 
shall  find  direct  conscious  expression,"^  this 
demand  is  separable  from  that  of  the  socialist 
— from  the  contention  that  the  State  shall  not 
only  express  the  experience  of  society,  but  shall 
undertake  the  administration  of  industry,  and 
shall  distribute  the  tools  and  instruments  of 
production  to  the  citizens. 

2.  What  is  the  relation  between  socialism  and 
communism  ?  That  they  are  related  at  vital 
points  is  made  evident  by  the  study  of  both 
systems.  But  to  neither  is  the  whole  conten- 
tion of  the  other  necessary.  To  the  socialist,  a 
kind  of  communism  is  essential ;  for,  his  demand 
is  that  inequalities  of  estate  shall  cease,  and  com- 
munism implies  equality  of  estate.  According  to 
some  Continental  socialistic  programmes,  nations 
are  to  be  broken  up  and  the  element  of  nation- 
ality is  to  be  eliminated  by  the  formation  of  small 
communities,  in  which  property  shall  be  held  in 

^  Speech  in  1849.  '  Ruskin  as  Social  Reformer,  p.  206. 


2i6  Present- Day  Problems. 

common,  and  so  distributed  that  all  their  con- 
stituents shall  be  equally  benefited.^  But  this  is 
an  extreme  view,  the  adherence  to  which  is  very 
limited.  Many  advocates  of  socialistic  tenets  in- 
sist on  only  the  minimum  of  the  communistic 
conception.  On  the  other  hand,  whilst  the  com- 
munist must  hold  to  a  collective  ownership  of 
land  or  of  goods,  he  may,  and  frequently  does, 
part  from  the  socialist  on  the  question  of  the 
intervention  of  the  State.  In  a  previous  chapter, 
reference  was  made  to  the  monastic  institutions 
of  the  mediaeval  period,  whose  only  enforcement 
was  a  religious  motive  and  the  voluntary  self- 
abnegation  of  those  who  entered  the  orders.  In 
the  United  States  of  America,  there  are,  or  lately 
were,  more  than  seventy  fraternities,  among  them 
being  the  sects  of  the  Shakers  and  the  Rappists, 
whose  bond  of  union  is  partly  materialistic,  partly 
ethical,  partly  religious,  but  which  have  no  political 
character  or  aim.  Their  sole  object  is  to  practise 
certain  rules  of  life  and  conduct,  based  on  the 
principle  that  each  member  must  contribute  to 
the  commonwealth  in  service  regulated,  as  he 
himself  must  be  controlled,  by  the  will  of  the 
fraternity  or  its  head,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Shakers,  those  who  are  supposed  to  interpret  the 
Christ-Spirit.     To  this  extent,  therefore,  there  is 

^  This  was  the  proposal  of  some  Spanish  and  Italian  socialists. 


Socialism  and  Social  Effort.  2  1 7 

an  acceptance  of  the  collectivist  ideal,  but  there 
is  not  an  acceptance  of  the  expression  of  this  ideal 
propounded  by  socialism. 

3.  Further;  in  the  present  day,  persons  differing 
in  political  sentiment  are  united  in  the  desire  and 
endeavour  to  reduce  inequalities  of  opportunity, 
and  terminate  the  exploitation  of  masses  of  the 
population.  Are  they  to  be  regarded  as,  if  not 
socialists,  tending  towards  socialism  ? 

It  is  in  the  interest  of  the  agitator  to  paint  the 
iniquity  of  existing  social  arrangements  with  a 
brush  which  has  been  dipped  in  the  strongest 
possible  colours.  Marx,  for  example,  described 
the  bourgeoisie  reign  to  be  the  conversion  of 
society  into  an  aggregate  of  beggars  and  million- 
aires.^ Who  that  includes  in  his  purview  all  the 
facts  of  the  situation  can  be  misled  by  such  a 
description  ?  Who  can  indorse  the  assertion 
that  the  condition  of  the  labouring  class  under 
the  heel  of  capitalism  is  simply  a  movement  from 
a  bad  into  an  ever  worse  ?  These  are  exaggera- 
tions which  common-sense  contemptuously  rejects. 
''The  more  things  improve,  the  louder  becomes 
the  exclamation  about  their  badness."  This  is 
(as  has  previously  been  remarked)  because,  first, 
the  general  improvement  sheds  an  intenser  light 
on  the  features  that  are  grim  and  sad;  because, 

1  Contemporary  Socialism,  p.  141. 


2 1 8  Present-Day  Problems. 

second,  the  social  conscience  has  been  more  fully 
educated  and  is  more  sensitive  in  regard  to  them ; 
and  because,  third,  every  advance  in  wellbeing 
creates  new  wants  which  clamour  to  be  satisfied. 
Nevertheless,  though  overdrawn  representations 
are  set  aside  or  largely  discounted,  earnest  men 
and  women  of  varying  shades  of  opinion  keenly 
feel  all  that  is  only  too  true  in  the  socialist's 
indictment,  and  are  ready  to  dismiss  preconcep- 
tions or  prejudices  in  the  attempt  to  find  a  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  presented.  But  they  are  not, 
on  this  account,  to  be  ranked  as  socialists. 

Lately,  when  referring  in  the  House  of  Lords 
to  some  proposals  in  the  direction  of  social  re- 
form, the  Prime  Minister  said :  *'  They  are  con- 
nected with  great  evils,  and  no  one  who  is  not 
absolutely  blind  will  deny  the  existence  of  these 
evils.  It  is  our  duty  to  do  all  we  can  to  find 
remedies  ;  even  if  we  are  called  socialist  for  doing 
so  we  shall  be  reconciled  to  it."  A  good  man,  in 
supporting  what  he  believes  to  be  right,  is  not 
concerned  as  to  the  terms  that  may  be  cast  at 
him.  But  we  only  confuse  words  when  we  attach 
the  name  to  those  who  devise  liberal  measures  for 
the  amelioration  of  wrongs  and  ills,  whilst  they 
separate  themselves  from  the  revolution  that  is 
behind  the  name.  In  1848,  M.  Proudhon  was 
asked   by  a  magistrate,   "  What   is   socialism  ? " 


Extensions  of  State  Poivcrs.  2  1 9 

He  replied,  ''  Every  aspiration  towards  the  ameli- 
oration of  society."  "  In  that  case,"  said  the 
magistrate,  "  we  are  all  socialists."  "  That  is 
precisely  what  I  think,"  rejoined  M.  Proudhon. 
But  Professor  Flint,  who  relates  this,  rightly 
demands,  "  What,  then,  was  the  use  of  the 
definition  ?  "  ^ 

4.  Once  more;  is  it  to  be  argued  that  the  exten- 
sion of  the  powers  of  the  State  for  the  promotion 
of  material  and  moral  wellbeing  means  socialism  ? 
Practically,  the  laissez  faire  doctrine  of  econ- 
omists has  been  abandoned.     John  Stuart  Mill, 
as  the  interpreter  of  laissez  faire,  laid  it  down  as 
a  first  principle  that  *'  the  sole  end  for  which  man- 
kind are  warranted,  individually  or  collectively, 
in  interfering  with  the  liberty  of  action  of  any  of 
their  members  is  self-protection  ;  the  sole  purpose 
for  which  power  can  be  rightly  exercised  is  to 
prevent  harm  to  others."'^      We  have  travelled 
far   beyond   this   position.      Mere    self-protection 
is  not  now  regarded  as  ''the  sole  end"  of  the 
interference  of  mankind  collectively.     Mere  pre- 
vention of  harm  to  others  is  not  now  regarded 
as  *'the   sole   purpose  for  which    power  can   be 
rightly  exercised."     The  State  is  not  now  viewed 
merely  as  a  constable,  with  the  two  commands, 
"  Keep    moving,"    and,    "  Hands    off    from    one 

1  Socialism,  p.  23.  "  ^^^'^^y  u"  Liberty. 


2  20  Present- Day  Problems. 

another."  It  is  looked  upon  as  the  instrument 
by  which,  through  legislation  confirming  action 
initiated  by  individuals  or  by  public  bodies,  and 
in  certain  cases  initiating  action,  the  good  of 
the  community  may  be  furthered,  healthier  and 
wealthier  life  may  be  secured,  and  society  may 
be  enabled  to  make  increase  to  '*  the  edifying 
of  itself  in  love."  And  if  in  recent  years  it  has 
more  and  more  acknowledged  an  ethical  char- 
acter and  responsibility,  is  not  this  only  the 
carrying  out,  in  the  changed  circumstances  of 
the  day,  of  a  traditional  ideal  of  government  ? 
When  our  forefathers  maintained  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  State  to  provide  for  the  moral  and 
religious  welfare  of  the  people,  and  therefore  to 
establish  and  confirm  the  Christian  religion,  they 
virtually  asserted  that,  as  the  guardian  of  all 
social  interests,  the  State  is  bound  to  protect 
and  promote  the  righteousness  which  exalts  a 
nation.  Many  Legislative  Acts,  whose  object  is 
to  make  life  more  wholesome  and  virtuous,  re- 
ceived the  royal  assent  during  the  Victorian  era. 
Amended  Poor  Laws,  Factory  and  Workshop 
Acts,  compulsory  Elementary  Education  without 
the  charging  of  fees.  Workmen's  Compensation 
Acts,  Acts  for  inebriates.  Acts  forbidding  the 
sale  of  spirituous  liquors  to  children,  are  illus- 
trations.     And,    in    other    ways,    the    power    of 


State  Transformation. 


2  2  1 


collective  intervention  has  been  enlarged.  The 
control  of  the  telegraph  system  has  been  added 
to  that  of  postal  communication.  The  Legis- 
lature has  sanctioned  the  action  of  corporations, 
with  a  view  to  better  housing  and  to  the  recrea- 
tion and  health  of  the  labouring  classes.  Means 
of  locomotion  and  of  telephonic  exchanges  have 
been  municipalised.  We  are  using  the  powers 
of  the  State  with  ever-increasing  readiness,  not 
simply  for  the  protection  of  individual  citizens, 
but  for  the  promotion  of  the  greater  happiness 
of  the  greater  number.  But  socialism  means 
something  more  and  else  than  this. 

What  it  asks  is  not  so  much  State  help  as  State 
transformation.  The  help  is  conceded  when  good 
cause  is  shown.  But  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed 
between  carefulty  considered  State  action  in  sup- 
plement of  the  endeavours  of  the  community  for 
purposes  the  carrying  out  of  which  implies  a 
monopoly  of  means,  or  which  cannot  be  done 
or  so  well  done  except  through  such  action,  and 
that  which  socialism  in  its  more  crystallised  form 
contemplates. 

What,  then,  does  it  contemplate  ?  in  other 
words,  What  is  socialism  ? 


222 


CHAPTER    XL 

THE    POSITIONS    OF   SOCIALISM. 

Socialism  is  one  of  those  indefinite  terms  under 
which  many  theories,  differing  from  each  other  at 
many  points  but  united  by  a  common  idea,  are 
comprehended.  ''  The  societies,"  writes  Mr  W. 
R.  Greg,  "  have  assumed  every  possible  variety  of 
form.  We  have  had  repubHcan  societies  like 
Plato's,  Fourier's,  and  Baboeuf's  ;  hierarchical 
and  aristocratic  like  Simon's ;  theocratic  like  the 
Essenes ;  despotic  like  that  of  the  old  Peruvians, 
and  that  of  the  Jesuits  in  Paraguay ;  polygamists 
like  the  Mormons.  Some  have  been  based  on 
purely  material  principles  like  Mr  Owen's ;  some 
have  been  profoundly  spiritual  and  religious  like 
the  Moravians  ;  some  maintain  the  family  arrange- 
ments, some  altogether  merge  them  ;  some  recom- 
mend celibacy  as  the  Essenes,  some  enforce  it  as 
the  Shakers.  Some,  like  the  Owenites,  relax  the 
marriage  tie ;  some,  like  the  Harmonists,  control 


The  Appeal  of  Modern  Socialism.     22 


-^-v) 


it ;  some,  like  the  Moravians,  hold  it  sacred  and 
indissoluble ;  others  again,  like  Plato  and  the 
Anabaptists  of  Munster,  advocate  a  community  of 
women.  Some  would  divide  the  wealth  of  the 
society  equally  among  all  the  members ;  some,  as 
Fourier,  unequally.  But  one  great  idea  pervades 
them  all  —  community  of  property,  more  or  less 
complete  and  unreserved.  Common  labour  for 
the  common  good."  ^ 

Modern  socialism — that  with  which  we  are  now 
concerned — includes  this  idea  but  adds  to  it,  and 
only  in  the  addition  do  we  find  its  distinctive  plat- 
form. There  are  points  at  which  it  appeals  to 
thoughtful  and  earnest  minds.  It  interprets  an 
ideal  of  life  which  interests  those  who  are  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  spiritual  -  social  sides  of  Christ- 
ianity. It  interprets  an  ideal  of  Government 
which  some  who  long  for  a  more  rapid  initiative, 
and  a  more  effectual  action  for  the  public  weal, 
are  disposed  to  hail.  It  interprets  an  economic 
ideal  in  which  not  only  labour  leagues  and  leaders 
discern  social  salvation,  but  which  attracts  the 
attention  of  many  who  regard  political  eco- 
nomy, as  hitherto  expounded,  as  ''  the  dismal 
science."  Thus  it  attracts  many,  who  have  yet 
no  fellowship  with  its  ulterior  aims,  with  some  of 

1  Mistaken  Aims  and  Unattainable  Ideals  of  the  Artizan  Class, 
pp.  192,  193. 


2  24  Present- Day  Problems. 

its  cardinal  principles,  and  with  the  methods  by 
which  it  proposes  to  apply  its  principles  and  carry 
out  its  aims. 

The  late  Bishop  of  Durham,  Dr  Westcott,  is 
an  illustration.  To  him  the  attraction  was  the 
theory  of  life.  Individualism  denotes  competi- 
tion ;  the  method  of  socialism  is  co  -  operation. 
The  one  looks  on  man  as  working  against  man  for 
private  gain ;  the  other  looks  on  man  as  working 
with  man  for  a  common  end.  The  one  aims  at 
the  attainment  of  some  personal  advantage  either 
of  place  or  of  fame ;  the  other  aims  at  the  fulfil- 
ment of  service.  Hence  the  preference  of  the 
saintly  bishop.  He  protested  against  the  idea 
of  *'  humanity  as  made  up  of  disconnected  or 
jarring  atoms " ;  he  looked  on  humanity  "  as 
an  organic  whole,  a  vital  unity  formed  by  the 
combination  of  contributory  members  mutually 
interdependent."  The  economic  aspect  of  social- 
ism he  let  alone ;  the  humanitarian  aspect  which 
it  incorporates  secured  his  suffrage.^  And  in  this 
he  exemplifies  the  attitude  assumed  by  a  large 
number  of  earnest  minds  which  are  permeated  by 
the  Christian  law  of  ministry,  binding  men  by 
love  to  serve  one  another.  But  the  system  or 
the  variety  of  systems  that  we  differentiate  as 
socialistic  is  political  and  economical.     The  ques- 

^  The  Incarnation  and  Common  Life. 


Characteristic  Positions  of  Socialis7?i.     225 

tion  to  which  it  suppHes  an  answer  is,  How  by 
State  or  collective  organisation  may  this  law  of 
ministry  be  rendered  binding  on  men  and  uni- 
versal ?  how  is  competition  to  be  abolished  ?  and 
how,  by  the  supremacy  of  co-operation,  are  the 
evils  ascribed  to  competition  to  be  eradicated  ? 

The  expositions  of  this  answer  are  numerous. 
Some  are  so  vague  that  for  the  purpose  of  defini- 
tion they  are  useless ;  some  are  so  loose  that  they 
are  not  self- consistent.  Of  this  sort  are  such 
statements  as  that  socialism  means  nothing  else 
than  ''the  betterment  of  society";^  or,  again, 
that  it  means  "  every  tendency  which  demands 
any  kind  of  subordination  of  the  individual  will 
to  the  community."^  These,  and  many  similar 
statements,  explain  nothing.  They  do  not  an- 
nounce the  characteristic  positions  of  socialism. 
To  ascertain  them,  we  must  turn  to  more  fully 
formulated  and  authoritative  pronouncements; 
and  we  may  select  Dr  Schaffle  in  his  '  Quintes- 
sence of  Socialism  '  as  perhaps  the  most  moderate 
and  "business-like"  of  all.  The  book  has  this 
feature,  that,  whilst  it  clearly  indicates  the  lines  of 
the  proposed  action,  and  is  sympathetic  with 
them,  it  is  fully  aware  of  the  difficulties  attend- 

1  Kaufman,  in  'Subjects  of  the  Day,'  No.'2. 

2  Held,  Sozialismus,  &c.,  p.  29. 

P 


2  26  Present- Day  Problems. 

ing  their  adoption.     In  a  later  work,  the  author 
declares  the  socialistic  democracy  impossible.^ 

"The  Alpha  and  Omega  of  socialism,"  Dr 
Schaffle  asserts,  ''  is  the  transformation  of  private 
and  competing  capitals  into  a  united  collective 
capital."^  The  goal  contemplated  is,  ''No  cap- 
italists and  no  wage  -  earners,  but  all  alike  pro- 
ducers " ;  for,  "  instead  of  the  system  of  private 
and  competing  capitals  which  drive  down  wages 
by  competition,  there  shall  be  a  collective  owner- 
ship of  capital,  public  organisation  of  labour  and 
of  the  distribution  of  the  national  income."  ^ 
"  The  State  is  to  collect,  warehouse,  and  trans- 
port all  products,  and  finally  to  distribute  them 
to   individuals    in    proportion   to   the    registered 

^  "  The  freedom  of  the  individual  would  lose  in  a  degree  which 
democracy  would  by  no  means  tolerate.  Popular  government  very 
easily  degenerates  into  mob-rule,  and  this  is  always  more  favourable 
to  the  common  and  the  insignificant  than  to  the  noble  and  distin- 
guished. Hence  democratic  Collectivism  itself  would  be  likely  to 
wound  in  a  high  degree  the  most  sensitive  self-respect,  without 
leaving  as  much  freedom  as  does  the  present  system  of  private  ser- 
vice in  the  choice  of  employment  and  employer,  or  of  a  place  of 
abode.  Its  only  equality  would  be  that  no  one  was  in  anywise  in- 
dependent, but  all  slaves  of  the  majority,  and  on  this  point  again 
democratic  Collectivism  would  come  to  grief  and  utterly  fail  to  keep 
the  promises  it  makes  to  the  better  class  of  working  men  whose  self- 
respect  is  injured  by  the  existing  state  of  things." — The  Impossi- 
bility of  Social  Democracy,  p.  95, 

2  Quintessence,  p.  20  (English  translation). 

»  Ibid.,  p.  28. 


Schdffle  on  Socialism,  227 

amount  of  social  labour,  and  according  to  a 
valuation  of  commodities  exactly  corresponding 
to  their  average  cost  of  production."  ^  "All 
incomes  are  equally  to  represent  a  share  in  the 
national  produce  allotted  directly  by  the  com- 
munity in  proportion  to  the  work  done — that  is, 
exclusive  returns  to  labour."  ^  This  is  set  forth 
as  the  quintessence.  We  are  called  to  set  aside 
all  other  issues,  other  points  which  are  often 
tagged  into  theories  ;  and,  as  the  one  vital  matter, 
to  fasten  on  the  abolition  of  private  ownership  of 
all  instruments  of  production  (land,  factories, 
machines,  tools,  &c.),  so  that  all  producers  will 
individually  be  no  more  than  workmen,  working 
with  the  instruments  of  production  common 
to  all."=^ 

Thus  far  Dr  Schaffle.  With  his  view  popu- 
lar representations  coincide.  The  programme  of 
socialism  is  explained  in  a  leaflet  of  the  Fabian 
Society  to  "  consist  essentially  of  one  demand, 
that  the  land  and  other  instruments  of  produc- 
tion shall  be  the  common  property  of  the  people, 
and  shall  be  used  and  governed  by  the  people 
for  the  people."  For  this,  as  "  his  fundamental 
principle,"  to  be  carried  to  "its  utmost  limits," 
Karl  Marx  contended.  Individual  landowners 
and   capitalists   of  every   sort   are   to   be  expro- 

1  Quintessence,  p.  45.  2  ibid.,  p.  9.  '  j^jj^^  pp^  7^  3_ 


2  28  Present- Day  Problems. 

priated,  and  the  whole  means  of  the  nation  are 
to  be  held  by  the  community,  in  order  that  dis- 
tribution according  to  need  or  labour  may  be 
made  to  all  labourers.  No  profits  and  no 
wages,  for  all  are  to  be  sharers  in  a  common 
good.  No  masters  and  no  servants,  for  all  are 
to  be  servants  of  the  one  master,  the  com- 
munity, getting  the  full  value  of  their  labour 
in  production.  Rewards  may  be  given  to 
special  intelligence  or  service;  but  the  hon- 
oraria are  to  be  determined  by  the  community. 
The  State— that  is,  ''the  proletariat  itself  or- 
ganised as  a  governing  body  " — is  to  be  the  one 
and  only  proprietor,  the  one  and  only  capitalist, 
the  one  and  only  paymaster  ;  the  possessor  and 
distributer  of  the  entire  wealth ;  the  universal 
providence  as  well  as  executive.  Such  is  the 
new  economy  whose  triumph  is  the  hope,  the 
"  Christ  that  is  to  be,"  of  Socialism. 

To  the  economic  constitution  of  society,  then, 
we  must  address  ourselves.  There  are  many 
beautiful  and  interesting  aspects  in  the  en- 
vironment of  socialism,  and  generous  or  ardent 
natures,  interested  by  these  aspects,  are  apt  to 
extend  their  sympathies  to  the  system  itself. 
But  in  order  to  know  what  it  is,  what  it  pro- 
poses, whither  it  leads,  we  must  concentrate 
attention    on   the   economic   aspect.      If  it   pro- 


The  Labour  Question,  229 

poses  to  bring  in  a  millennium  for  the  toiling 
millions,  it  proposes  to  do  this  by  a  revolution 
in  respect  of  the  fundamental  conceptions  and 
constitutive  principles  of  society ;  and  the  canons 
and  aims  of  this  revolution  it  is  necessary  to 
sift.  It  would  take  us  too  far  afield  to  criticise 
all  the  positions  that  are  taken.  But  some 
of  the  difficulties  that  compel  an  attitude  of 
scepticism,  and  sometimes  of  opposition,  it 
seems  incumbent  to  state. 


I. 


"The  labour  question,"  writes  Professor  Flint, 
'*  is  the  distinctively  burning  question  of  the 
Europe  of  to-day,  as  the  religious  question  was 
of  the  Europe  of  the  Reformation  period,  or 
the  political  question  of  the  Europe  of  the 
Revolution  epoch."  ^  Now,  it  is  on  the  rela- 
tion of  labour  to  wealth,  on  the  rights  of  the 
labourer,  on  the  organisation  of  labour,  that 
socialism  lays  stress.  It  is  essentially  a  scheme 
to  make  labour  the  one,  the  all -dominating 
fact— the  measure  of  all  value,  the  reference  of 
all  government,  the  basis  of  the  entire  social 
structure. 

The    fundamental    principle    of    the    structure 

^  Socialism,  p.  104. 


230  Present- Day  Problems, 

which  it  would  rear  is  the  assertion  of  Adam 
Smith,  Ricardo,  and  other  economists,  that 
*'  labour  is  the  source  of  all  wealth  " — one  of 
those  assertions  which,  when  duly  guarded  and 
balanced,  express  a  truth,  but  which,  when  not 
thus  balanced,  are  misleading  and  become  un- 
true. Exception  may  be  taken  to  the  phrase- 
ology. However  regarded,  labour  is  rather  the 
conditio  sine  qua  non  than  the  source  of  wealth. 
It  does  not  originate ;  it  operates  on  material 
supplied  or  available,  and,  utilising  this  material, 
realises  a  value.  Without  labour,  there  cannot 
be  possession ;  but  possession  would  be  impos- 
sible unless,  independently  of  labour,  there  were 
a  substance  to  be  converted  into  use.  We  com- 
mand nature  by  obeying  it.  No  force  benefits 
us  unless  we  serve  it ;  and  such  service  or  obe- 
dience, through  the  exercise  of  patience,  skill, 
industry,  is  the  condition  of  appropriating — not 
of  creating — the  wealth.  As  thus  understood, 
it  is  in  a  sense  true  that  there  is  no  actual 
value  without  labour.  But  when  we  say  this, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  term  labour 
includes  many  kinds  of  service — includes,  indeed, 
all  volitions,  all  acts  of  thought,  all  forth-putting 
of  energy,  all  that  brain  and  hand  find  to  do. 
Now,  it  is  here  that  we  discern  the  socialistic 
misuse  of  the  formula.      The  formula  is   practi- 


Is  Mamtal  Toil  the  Measure  of  Vahie  ?  231 

cally  limited   to  one  species  of  labour — manual. 
Marx  looks  on  that  as  ''the  one  uniform  labour 
power  "^  which  makes  value.     Instead  of  com- 
prehending   the    total    of    labourers,    intellectual 
as  well  as  industrial,  only  the  industrial  are  in 
the  purview,  and  the  changes  are  ever  rung  on 
the    note   that   their   toil    towards   production   is 
the  sole  source  of  all  the  wealth  in  production. 
This  is  utterly  erroneous.     The  labourer  cannot 
produce   without    his    instruments,    without    the 
machinery   by   means   of    which    he   acts.      But 
the  instruments,  the  machinery,  represent  money 
which   the   labourer   has    not;    they   also    imply 
research,   knowledge,   inventive   genius  in  which 
the  labourer  has  no  share.     Moreover,  the  plan 
which   the   labourer   works   out,  the   conduct    of 
the   business   with    which    he    is    associated,   the 
finding  of  the  market   for  goods    produced,   the 
manifold     dealing     with     commodities     so     that 
they    may    be    exchanged,    all    that    makes    the 
work  successful  and  profitable,— these  are  essen- 
tial   to    the   wealth,    and    have    a    right    to    be 
reckoned  as  contributing  to  it. 

To  measure  value  by  manual  toil,  to  place 
this  toil  in  the  seat  of  authority,  is  surely  to 
contract  the  horizons  of  life,  and  to  set  up  an 

1  Capital,  p.  12.  "For  simplicity's  sake  we  shall  henceforth 
account  every  kind  of  labour  to  be  unskilled,  simple  labour." 


232  Present' Day  Problems. 

irrational  touchstone  of  worth.  But  what  is  the 
test  imposed  by  Marx?  He  takes  "simple,  un- 
skilled labour  as  the  standard  of  all  labour." 
And  he  adds,  *'  The  value  of  the  most  skilled 
work,  by  equating  it  to  the  product  of  simple, 
unskilled  labour,  represents  a  definite  quantity 
of  the  latter  alone."  ^  Is  this  tenable?  Is  it  not 
absurd,  all  but  incomprehensible  ?  Quantity  of 
labour  supreme  over  quality  of  labour !  There 
is  no  equation  by  which  the  worth  of  a 
sculptor's  work  can  be  equalised  to  the  product 
of  a  hodman's.  The  ten  hours  of  the  hodman 
and  the  ten  hours  of  the  sculptor  are  the  same 
in  respect  of  duration,  but  they  are  utterly 
different  in  respect  of  the  kind  of  work  done, 
of  the  amount  of  intellectual,  artistic,  emotional 
brain-effort  put  into  them ;  and  yet  we  are  told 
that  the  value  of  the  sculptor's  work  represents 
a  definite  quantity  of  the  hodman's.  ''  As 
values  " — such  is  the  generalisation — **  all  com- 
modities are  only  definite  masses  of  congealed 
labour-time."  2  Over  its  theories  of  value,  and 
the  determinants  of  value,  socialism  becomes 
confused :  it  is  frequently  befogged ;  and,  in 
magnifying  manual  labour,  it  belittles  other 
forms  of  service.  Even  Dr  Schaffle  describes 
''judges,  administrative  officials,  teachers,  artists, 

^  Capital,  vol.  i.  p.  12.  2  Capital,  pp.  5,  6. 


Rights  in  the  Produce  of  Labour. 


-v)J 


scientific  investigators,"  as  yielding  services  of 
general  utility,  but,  inasmuch  as  *'  they  are  not 
employed  in  the  social  circulation  of  material," 
they  are  regarded  as  **  not  immediately  produc- 
tive workers."  And  he  would  assign  them  a 
share  in  the  commodities  produced  by  the 
national  labour  "  proportioned  only  to  the  time 
spent  by  them  in  useful  work."  ^  This  labour- 
time  is  the  exclusive  reference :  the  labour 
which  produces  material  commodities  is  em- 
phasised as  the  only  source  of  the  national 
wealth.  To  many,  this  apprehension  must  ap- 
pear narrow,  unjust,  even  false. 

The  sceptical  attitude  assumed  towards  it  may 
be  extended  to  the  demand  of  socialism,  that 
"  the  labourer  is  entitled  to  the  whole  produce 
of  his  labour."  Those  who  make  this  demand 
are  by  no  means  agreed  as  to  details.  It  is  one 
thing  in  the  mouth  of  a  Russian  nihilist,  another 
thing  in  the  mouth  of  a  French  peasant-proprietor, 
another  thing  still  in  the  mouth  of  the  English 
socialist.  Let  us  appeal  to  Karl  Marx  as  the 
most  consistent  and  thorough  expounder  of  its 
significance.  Value,  he  insists,  is  created  by  the 
power  of  labour.  The  possessor  of  this  power — 
i.e.,  the  labourer — sells  it  as  a  commodity  at  so 
much  per  day.     This  is  his  day's  wage.     But  in 

^  Quintessence,  pp.  8,  9. 


234  Present-Day  Problems. 

his  toil  through  the  working  day  he  creates  a 
value  far  in  excess  of  that  which  he  receives — 
a  surplus  value  which  is  appropriated  by  the 
capitalist.  The  contention  is  that  he  is  entitled 
to  the  whole  value — the  surplus  as  well  as  the 
wage.  There  are  subtleties  in  the  argument  on 
the  subject  of  value  on  which  it  is  unnecessary 
to  dwell.  It  is  sufficient  to  recall  the  point 
already  referred  to,  that,  in  the  view  of  the 
socialistic  economist,  value  is  essentially  time 
of  labour,  with  two  conditions  annexed :  one, 
that  the  article  produced  must  be  socially  useful ; 
and  the  other,  that  the  time  whose  entire  produce 
the  workman  is  to  receive  must  be  limited  by  his 
capacity  of  endurance,  and  by  the  consideration 
of  the  necessities  of  rest  and  leisure  in  order  that 
body  and  mind  may  be  sustained  in  full  vigour. 
Making  allowance  for  these  requirements,  it  is 
maintained  that  the  entire  result  of  the  whole 
day's  toil  —  not  the  wage  only,  but  the  surplus 
which  now  goes  to  the  employer  —  is  right- 
fully the  labourer's.  And  in  so  far  as  he  is 
not  obtaining  it,  he  is  held  to  be  robbed  by 
society.^ 

Now,    in    all   the    reasoning    by  which   this  is 
enforced,   we   observe    the    confusion    previously 

1  The  latter  parts  of  vol.  i.  and  vol.  ii.  of  *  Capital '  elaborate  the 
position  stated. 


PV/io  are  Labourers  ?  235 

traced.      In  the   production    of  exchangeable  or 
of  useful  things,  is  the  labourer  to  be  regarded 
as  only  the  person  who  receives  the  wage,  whose 
time  is  purchased  for  the   production  ?      A  cap- 
italist is  generally  regarded  as  one  who  advances 
money  and  awaits  the  receipt  of  '*  usury  "  or  of 
interest  for  the  money ;  but,  as  has  been  shown, 
he  may  be,  and  very  often  is,  the  hardest  labourer 
of  all  —  designing   patterns  or   plans,   financing, 
watching,  and   taking   advantage   of  changes   in 
style,  fashion,  or   in  processes  of  industry,  con- 
ducting  a  business  larger  or  smaller.      He  may 
have  too  much — that  is  another  matter ;   but  is 
he  not  also  a  labourer  entitled  to  the  value  which 
his  time  and  energy  create  ?     The  reply  of  course 
will  be,  that  the  individual  capitalist,  as  distin- 
guished  from    the   individual    labourer,   is   to  be 
abolished  ;    that   there   are  to  be  no  wages  and 
no  profits,  since  all  are  to  be  sharers  in  the  total 
profit,  each  according  to  his  labour.     But,  under 
any  conceivable  arrangement,  must  there  not  be 
some  party  holding  the  two  halves  of  the  scissors  ? 
some  agency— indeed  a  vastly  multiplied  agency — 
to  guide,  to  inspect,  to  order,  to  keep  books,  to 
be  captains,  lieutenants,  scribes  of  industry  ?    The 
time  of  this  agency  is  not  making  production  of 
commodities,   but   it   has  its  value.      Those  em- 
ployed in  it  are  not  "  labourers"  in  the  restricted 


236  Present-Day  Problems. 

acceptation  of  the  term,  but  they  must  be  paid 
for  their  service,  and  for  this  payment  deduc- 
tions must  be  made  from  the  labourer's  pro- 
duce, in  contravention  of  the  principle  that  the 
labourer  is  entitled  to  the  total  produce  of  his 
labour.  Further,  if  there  is  no  single  produc- 
tion that  does  not  involve  the  labour  of  many 
workers,  and  workers  of  many  sorts,  how  is  this 
variety  of  service  essential  to  the  value  of  any 
commodity  to  be  recognised  ?  If  in  the  measure 
in  which  industry  is  skilled,  no  particular  product 
can  be  regarded  as  the  result  of  the  toil  of  one 
workman,  how  is  it  possible  to  fix  what  is  the 
whole  produce  to  which  every  labourer  is  en- 
titled ?  The  claim  is  beset  with  difficulties.  A 
Fabian  essayist  has  endeavoured  to  cut  the  knot 
by  saying  that  *'  the  only  truly  socialistic  scheme 
will  absolutely  abolish  all  economic  distinctions, 
and  establish  the  impossibility  of  their  again 
arising,  by  making  an  equal  provision  for  the 
maintenance  of  all  an  indefeasible  condition  of 
citizenship  without  any  regard  whatever  to  the 
relative  specific  services  of  different  citizens." 
Then,  it  may  safely  be  said  that  '*  the  only  truly 
socialistic  scheme"  attempts  the  impossible;  and 
that  if,  in  its  idea  and  aim,  socialism  is  interpreted 
by  such  a  scheme,  the  part  which  it  prescribes  for 
itself  is  a  constant  ploughing  of  the  sands. 


Property  in  Land.  237 

That  the  labourer  has  an  absolute  right  to  all 
the  produce  of  his  labour  is  not  evident,  unless 
by  the  labourer  is  understood  every  one  who  by 
brain,  intelligence,  money,  or  manual  service  con- 
tributes to  the  result.  But  we  can  all  urge  that 
the  labourer,  in  the  restricted  acceptation  of  the 
term,  is  entitled  to  an  equitable  proportion.  It 
is  the  business  of  the  State  to  see  that  the  con- 
ditions of  contracting  for  his  labour  are  righteous, 
to  protect  him  against  being  defrauded,  to  put 
him  in  the  way  of  realising  a  fair  value  for  him- 
self, whilst  he  is  creating  value  for  society.  Where 
the  intervention  of  the  State  is  required  to  free 
industry,  or  to  guard  the  workman  and  give  him 
full  play  for  his  energy  and  for  larger  amounts 
of  happiness,  there  is  the  call  for  the  application 
of  its  powers.  But  every  demand  needs  to  be 
carefully  scrutinised,  and,  in  the  interests  both 
of  the  individual  and  of  the  community,  doubtful 
claims  need  to  be  challenged. 


11. 


The  grudge  of  the  more  advanced  expressions 
of  socialism  against  property  in  land  is  keen 
and  bitter.  '*  Private  property  is  theft,"  said 
Proudhon  ;   and  his  saying  is   one   of  the  funda- 


238  Present-Day  Problems. 

mental  principles  of  the  new  economy.  The 
land,  with  all  its  potentialities,  is  held  to  be- 
long to  the  people.  Nothing,  it  is  urged,  can 
be  called  property  that  is  not  the  fruit  of 
labour;  and  land  is  not  the  fruit  of  labour,  but 
the  gift  of  God  intended  for  all  alike.^  No 
person,  therefore,  has  a  right  to  the  exclusive 
tenure  of  any  portion  of  it.  ''  To  the  landed 
estates  of  the  Duke  of  Westminster,"  exclaimed 
Mr  George,  *'  the  poorest  child  that  is  born  in 
London  to-day  has  as  much  right  as  his  eldest 
son."  2 

Now,  with  regard  to  this  contention  two  points 
may  be  made.  First,  is  the  distinction  between 
land  and  other  material  —  viz.,  that  the  one  is 
God's  gift  to  all,  and  consequently  is  not  to  be 
called  property;  and  the  other,  being  the  fruit 
of  labour,  is  not  gift  but  property — ^justified  by 
common-sense  ?  The  soil,  indeed,  is  a  gift  of 
the  Creator  to  man.  But  the  same  may  be 
said  of  all  on  which  man  operates ;  and  the  con- 
dition on  which  the  soil  becomes  a  source  of 
wealth  is  identical  with  that  on  which  anything 
else  becomes  a  source  of  wealth — that  is,  the 
labour  of  man.     The  Indian  tribes  which  roamed 

^  This   is   the   contention   of   Henry   George  in    '  Progress   and 
Poverty.' 
2  Quoted  in  'Contemporary  Socialism,'  p.  489. 


The  Right  to  the  Fruits  of  C^iltivation.    239 

through  the  forests  of  America,  and  the  Aus- 
tralian aborigines  who  reared  their  rude  tents 
in  the  bush,  saw  the  land,  trode  it,  slept  on  it ; 
but  it  yielded  them  no  wealth,  except  that  which 
was  realised  by  produce  on  which  they  bestowed 
no  labour,  and  by  the  use  of  bow  and  arrow. 
There  was  no  value  in  it  for  them,  because  the 
gift  of  God  did  not,  by  labour,  become  property. 
If  labour  is  essential  to  the  utilisation  of  the 
gift,  then,  accepting  the  definition  given,  the 
question  of  property  in  land  comes  immediately 
into  view.  No  abstract  conception  of  the  land 
as  belonging  to  all  alike  can  bar  the  right 
to  possess  the  fruits  of  the  portion  of  land 
which  one  man  or  one  family  cultivates.  But, 
second,  in  respect  of  this  right,  does  not  the 
Christian  ethicist  maintain  that  no  one  has  an 
absolute  and  unchallengeable  tenure  of  any 
good  ?  Property  has  been  defined  as  '*  the  right 
to  use  and  to  abuse."  ^  "  A  claim,"  observes 
Herbert  Spencer,  "  to  private  property  in  land 
involves  a  landowning  despotism."  And  the 
case  he  puts  is,  "  It  would  be  proper  for  the 
sole  proprietor  of  any  kingdom — a  Jersey  or 
Guernsey,  for  example — to  impose  just  what 
regulations  he  might  choose  on  its  inhabitants, 
to   tell   them  that  they  should    not    live  on    his 

^  M,  Proudhon. 


240  Present -Day  Problems. 

property  unless  they  professed  a  certain  re- 
ligion, spoke  a  particular  language,  paid  him  a 
specified  reverence,  adopted  an  authorised  dress, 
and  conformed  to  all  other  conditions  he  might 
see  fit  to  make."  ^  Now,  there  is  no  need  to 
deal  with  an  assertion  so  extravagant.  It  is 
not  within  the  range  of  practical  politics.  But 
one  who  looks  forth  on  society  in  the  mind  of 
Christ  rejects  the  idea  of  an  "  unlimited  des- 
potism." He  holds  that  any  and  every  tenure 
are  from  the  righteous  God,  and  that  to  Him 
and  His  righteousness  all  are  responsible  for 
its  occupancy.  None  have  such  a  right  to  it 
as  to  have  the  right  to  abuse  it.  If  a  landlord 
abuses  his  possession,  if,  under  his  custody,  it 
becomes  a  loss  instead  of  a  gain  to  the  nation, 
he  is  guilty  of  a  malversation  for  which  he 
must  answer  to  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  and 
of  a  wrong  to  society  for  which  society  may 
call  him  to  account.  Rights  are  balanced  by 
duties ;  they  cease,  in  moral  equity  at  least,  to 
be  rights  when  the  duties  are  neglected,  and 
beyond  a  certain  point — that  at  which  flagrant 
derelictions  and  injustices  can  be  proved — the 
nation,  through  its  executive,  the  State,  may 
and  should  demand  a  reckoning.  Parliament 
has  restricted  the  ''  despotism  "  of  the  landlord, 

^  Social  Statics,  chap,  ix. 


Ownership  of  Land.  241 

so   that    his   supposed   rights    may    not    interfere 
with  public  utihties. 

When  we  inquire  into  socialistic  schemes  as 
to  the  land,  we  find  a  variety,  even  a  conflict, 
of  ideas.  Some  would  abolish  both  ownership 
and  occupation,  and  leave  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  to  local  communes.  Some  would  infeft  all 
citizens  into  occupation,  and  oblige  the  able- 
bodied  to  work  in  the  production  of  the  fruits 
of  the  earth.  Some  would  parochialise  all  the 
land  of  the  nation,  "so  that  there  shall  be  no 
more  nor  other  landlords  in  the  whole  country 
than  the  parishes,  and  each  of  them  be  sovereign 
landlord  in  its  own  territory."  ^  Some  —  and 
these  the  theories  which  are  in  vogue  —  would 
nationahse  all  the  land  and  make  the  State  the 
sole  landlord.  From  all  such  proposals  the  plan, 
urged  with  great  eloquence  by  Mr  George,  but 
now  discarded,  differs,  in  that,  whilst  abolishing 
individual  ownership,  it  allowed  individual  occu- 
pancy, and,  in  lieu  of  rent  to  the  owner,  it  sub- 
stituted the  whole  burden  of  taxation.  His 
**  simple  yet  sovereign  remedy  was  to  appro- 
priate rent  by  taxation."  ^  Diverse,  however,  as 
the   remedies   for   the   alleged    existing   injustice 

1  Lecture  of  Thomas  Spence,  with  introduction  by  II.  M.  Ilynd- 
man.     London,  1882. 

2  Progress  and  Poverty,  p.  288, 

Q 


242  Present- Day  Problems. 

are,  the  conception  which  underHes  all  is  that 
the  land  is  "  the  inalienable  birthright  of  every 
person  born  on  it,"  that  of  this  birthright 
millions  are  deprived,  and  that  the  land -laws 
need  to  be  thoroughly  reformed  in  the  interests 
of  the  whole  nation  —  the  proprietor-class  abol- 
ished, rents  in  their  present  form  swept  away, 
and  all  land  worked  on  the  principle  of  co- 
operation, each  worker  receiving  according  to 
his  labour-time. 

Now,  behind  all  the  inflated  language  of  orator 
and  essayist  in  support  of  this  thesis  there  is  a 
truth.  Originally,  and  theoretically  still,  the 
State — the  tribe  or  nation  in  its  official  repre- 
sentative— is  the  first  owner  of  the  land.  In 
earlier  times,  it  gave  estates  to  persons  on  con- 
dition of  the  discharge  of  feudal  offices  and  obli- 
gations. When  the  offices  and  obligations  ceased, 
the  estates  remained.  No  one  will  assert  that 
ownership  of  land  in  this  country  is  an  ideal 
system.  But  three  positions  may  be  maintained. 
First,  that  there  is  no  absolute  injustice  in  the 
confirmation  by  the  State  of  the  title  of  an  indi- 
vidual to  reap  the  benefits  of  his  expenditure  and 
diligence  on  a  portion  of  the  soil.  All  cannot 
have  an  equal  right  to  every  portion  of  the  land ; 
there  must  be  limitation,  and  the  limitation  pro- 
tected by  law  is  really  property.     Second,  that 


The  Distribution  of  the  Soil.  243 

this  limitation  or  individualising:^  of  property  is, 
and  has  always  been,  an  accompaniment  of  civil- 
isation. In  the  far  past,  there  was  a  collective 
ownership,  and  the  soil  was  poorly  cultivated. 
The  expansion  of  agriculture  was  introduced  by 
allocations  of  land  to  individuals,  giving  them 
scope  for  energy  and  enterprise.  And,  third,  tliat 
with  reference  to  the  existing  order,  the  ramifica- 
tions of  property  are  so  wide  and  intricate,  social 
life  is  in  so  many  ways  mixed  up  with  it,  it  touches 
such  a  variety  of  interests  at  so  many  points,  that 
wise  men  cannot  but  shrink  from  such  drastic 
measures  as  socialism  proposes.  There  are  other 
processes  which  may  be  trusted  for  the  rectifica- 
tion of  much  that  is  socially  hurtful.  The  legal 
transference  of  land  has  been  greatly  facilitated ; 
the  effect  of  primogeniture  has  been  greatly  modi- 
fied; and  last,  not  least,  the  accumulation  of 
burdens  on  estates  whose  reduced  rentals  cannot 
bear  it,  the  pressures  of  population  making  the 
breaking  up  of  parks,  poHcies,  and  estates  both 
profitable  for  the  owner  and  necessary  for  the 
community,  —  these  drifts  and  tendencies  are, 
with  ever  -  accelerating  speed,  distributing  the 
possession  of  the  soil  over  widening  areas  of 
population.  It  is  better,  surely,  to  rely  on  an 
inevitable  development  of  influences  actively  at 
work,  than  to  contemplate  spoliations  which  can 


244  Present- Day  Problems. 

be    made    effectual    only   through   fierce   conflict 
and  social  revolution. 

Many  theories  that  catch  the  ear  of  multitudes 
break  down  when  their  practicability  is  considered. 
It  is  so  with  socialistic  theories  as  to  the  national- 
isation of  land.  To  begin  with,  the  soil  represents 
only  a  limited  territory,  and,  however  greatly  they 
may  be  increased,  limited  capacities  of  production. 
The  arable  acreage  is  constantly  shrinking  in  ex- 
tent, in  consequence  of  the  growth  and  diffusion 
of  the  urban  population,  and  the  spread  of  indus- 
tries of  many  kinds.  Allowing  for  the  utilisation 
of  policies  around  castles  and  mansions,  and  of 
deer-forests  (many  of  which  must  always  remain 
barren),  there  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  a  competence 
of  support  for  more  than  fractions  of  the  landless 
millions.  Then,  to  provide  for  these  fractions, 
how  is  the  State  or  the  local  community  to 
acquire  the  land  ?  Are  the  individual  owners 
to  receive  compensation,  or  are  their  estates  to 
be  confiscated  ?  Dr  Schaffle  would  compensate, 
but  the  compensation  must  be  in  the  form  of  con- 
sumable goods,  bestowed  for  a  period  longer  or 
shorter.^  What  goods  ?  In  what  proportion  to 
land-values  ?  If  a  fair  price  in  current  money 
may  be  given,  how  enormous  would  be  the 
amount    required !      In  order    to    pay    the   debt 

^  Quintessence  of  Socialism,  p.  32. 


How  is  Value  of  Land  to  be  Realised?     245 

thus  contracted,  to  meet  taxation,  cost  of  culti- 
vation, superintendence,  &c.,  what  vast  sums 
would  require  to  be  raised !  The  burden  would 
be  heavier  than  any  existing  rents.  But  it  is  con- 
fiscation, not  compensation  or  purchase,  that  is 
aimed  at.  J.  S.  Mill  proposed  that  only  *' the 
portion  of  the  future  increase  of  rent  not  due  to 
the  expenditure  of  labour  and  capital  on  the  soil 
should  be  intercepted."  ^  This  will  not  satisfy. 
The  landlord  is  to  be  expropriated.  The  social- 
ised State  is  to  take  the  rent,  the  whole  rent,  the 
land  and  all  its  value.  And,  in  doing  so,  the  claim 
is  that  there  is  no  robbery  of  persons,  that  the 
nation  is  only  reclaiming  its  own  for  national  use. 
How,  finally,  is  the  omnipotent  State  to  distribute 
the  wealth  in  land  so  that  by  labour  it  may  be 
realised  ?  It  cannot  give  new  possessions ;  it 
cannot  allow  any  one  to  say  of  even  a  few  acres, 
'*  These  are  mine  " ;  for,  small  landlordisms  as  well 
as  great  are  an  offence  against  the  fundamental 
principle.  Are  there  to  be  farms,  and  these  to  be 
let  by  auction  as  some  suggest  ?  But  this  means 
competition,  and  competition  is  to  be  eliminated. 
Is  the  farming  to  be  conducted  in  the  name  of  the 
community  —  overseers,  book  -  keepers,  stewards, 
and  others  necessary  to  the  carrying  on  of  busi- 
ness to  be  remunerated  out  of  the  gains  ?     But 

1  Quoted  in  '  Conlcmporary  Socialism,'  p.  491. 


246  Pre  sent- Day  Problems, 

what,  then,  of  the  right  of  the  labourer  to  the 
whole  of  his  produce  ?  According  to  any  method, 
the  practical  difficulties  are  formidable ;  and, 
whatever  the  method  that  may  be  adopted,  a 
huge  State  machinery  is  necessitated,  offering 
huge  opportunities  for  all  the  evils  of  a  wide- 
spread officialism.  Joseph,  we  are  told,  bought 
up  the  soil  of  Egypt  for  Pharaoh,  so  that  the 
people  were  reduced  to  a  state  of  servitude.  If 
the  socialist  programme  could  be  carried  out, 
is  it  not  possible  that  a  Pharaoh  might  be  sum- 
moned into  existence,  all  the  more  oppressive 
because  the  despotism  is  that  of  democracy? 


III. 

It  is  with  capital — meaning  by  this  the  wealth 
that  is  bestowed  on  production,  as  distinguished 
from  that  which  is  spent  on  consumable  goods 
or  on  self — that  the  quarrel  of  the  socialist  is 
most  intense.  He  is  the  champion  of  labour 
as  against  capital.  That  there  should  be  an 
against,  that  there  should  be  antagonism  between 
the  two  economic  factors,  each  of  which  is 
essential  to  the  other,  is  to  be  deeply  deplored. 
Many  who  cannot  accept  the  positions  of  social- 
ism recognise  in  the  socialistic  trend  of  feeling 


Capitalists,  247 

a  revolt  against  the  selfishness  that  capitalists 
have  too  often  manifested.  But  reason  must 
keep  a  naturally  aroused  protest  in  hand,  and 
some  reflections  bid  us  think,  not  once  or 
tw^ice  but  oftener  still,  before  we  commit  our- 
selves to  the  extreme  views  that  are  persistently 
advocated. 

In  the  first  place,  there  are  capitalists  and 
capitalists.  If  cases  of  heartless  indifference  to 
**  hands "  can  be  cited,  other  instances  of  just 
dealing,  of  actions  that  prove  a  genuine  desire 
to  promote  the  wellbeing  of  workmen  and  their 
families,  can  also  be  cited.  Under  any  system, 
however  perfect,  there  will  be  grasping  and  greed. 
Is  it  supposed  that  these  will  disappear  in  the 
working-class  State?  Some  who  are  always 
beholding  and  denouncing  the  mote  in  the 
capitalist's  eye  may  well  ask  if  there  is  no 
beam  in  their  own  eye. 

Further,  all  capitalists  are  not  millionaires. 
The  catch -cry  of  demagogues  is  that  society 
consists  of  a  few  millionaires  and  a  multitude 
of  beggars.^  There  are  too  many  beggars;  but 
will  any  sane  person,  looking  around,  maintain 
that,  apart  from  those  who  have  great  wealth, 
the  noticeable  thing  is  beggary  ?  There  are 
millionaires;   possibly— few  though  they  may  be 

^  So  Marx  in  his  *  Das  Kapiial.' 


248  Present- Day  Problems. 

relatively — there  are  too  many.  But,  as  com- 
pared with  the  mass  of  capitalists,  they  form  a 
very  small  percentage.  They  are  on  the  highest 
summits  of  an  indefinitely  graded  system,  sum- 
mits which,  for  the  most  part,  they  gained,  not 
by  mere  luck,  but  by  the  strenuous  application 
of  remarkable  powers,  illustrating  in  a  conspicu- 
ous manner  the  qualities  that  can  ensure  com- 
petencies for  many  of  all  sorts  and  conditions. 
But  every  person  who  has  any  money,  however 
small  the  sum,  which  he  invests  in,  or  utilises 
for,  business;  the  smallest  master — the  one,  say, 
who  can  buy  some  tools  and  leather  and  cobble 
shoes  in  his  own  house,  or  the  jobbing  gardener 
who  buys  his  hoe  and  rake  and  barrows  that  he 
may  dress  gardens,  or  the  widow  who  invests  in 
some  toys  and  confections  with  a  view  to  sale — is 
a  capitalist.  The  possibility  of  using  the  little  as 
well  as  the  much  for  production,  and  the  freedom 
to  develop  all  the  ingenuity  and  improve  all  the 
opportunity  of  the  individual,  have  been  hitherto 
accepted  as  among  the  things  to  be  contemplated 
towards  the  promotion  of  the  greater  happiness 
of  the  greater  number. 

Increase  of  opportunity  for  the  labourer  is  the 
desideratum.  An  exploited  person  is  one  who 
works  for  an  end  in  whose  good  he  has  no  part. 
The  exploitation  of  the  worker  is  reduced  in  the 


Shares  in  Business  Profits.  249 

measure  in  which  faciHties  are  provided  for  giving 
him  a  share  beyond  the  mere  Hving  wage  in  the 
fruits  of  production,  and  associating  him  with  the 
business  which  he  serves.  Undoubtedly,  there  are 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  realising  such  facilities. 
Payment  of  labour  by  means  of  shares  that  shall 
represent  the  value  of  the  labour,  with  a  percent- 
age proportioned  to  personal  merit  and  to  the 
success  of  the  firm,  is  advocated  by  many  who 
do  not  accept  the  socialists'  platform.  And  there 
is  much  to  be  said  in  its  favour.  It  has  been 
to  some  extent  tried  and  not  found  wanting  in 
America.  Bonuses,  regulated  in  amount  by  the 
prosperity  of  the  trade,  by  the  output  and  profit 
of  the  works,  have  been  set  apart  for  the  labourer, 
making  him  thus  a  partner  in  the  prosperity.  It 
should  not  pass  the  wit  of  man  to  discover  methods 
by  which  this  system  might  be  extended.  Still,  it 
must  be  recollected  that  there  are  fluctuations  in 
every  department  of  production ;  there  are  acute 
crises;  there  are  years  in  which  an  industry  is 
carried  on  at  a  loss,  instead  of  a  gain.  It  is 
only  the  command  of  money  that  in  these  cir- 
cumstances enables  the  capitalist  to  keep  his 
machinery  in  operation,  and  to  wait  in  the  hope  of 
a  brighter  day.  The  worker  who  has  no  money 
cannot  afford  to  wait.  The  fair  day's  wage  is 
his  security,  and  the  expectation  of  percentages, 


250  Present- Day  Problems. 

in  addition  to  the  wage,  might  give  rise  to  press- 
ures and  frictions  that  would  be  disastrous  in 
periods  when  trade  was  depressed  and  profits 
were  nil. 

What  is  needed  above  all  things  is  straight 
open  dealing  between  master  and  men.  It  is 
the  want  of  this  frankness  that  has  been  the 
occasion  of  much  of  the  heart-burning  that  feeds 
socialistic  agitation.  In  seasons  of  brisk  and 
profitable  trade,  employers  have  not,  in  advance 
of  all  solicitation,  taken  the  labourer  into  account 
and  accorded  him  a  larger  measure  of  good  as  his 
due.  Business,  we  are  told,  is  business ;  the  law 
of  supply  and  demand,  in  wages  as  in  all  com- 
modities, works  automatically,  and  there  must  be 
no  interference  with  it.  But,  to  distribute  the 
wealth  which  great  turns-over  secure,  so  that 
all  may  have  a  portion,  is  no  interference  with 
this  law ;  it  only  marks  obedience  to  the  law 
which  should  be  supreme  in  a  Christian  com- 
munity—  the  law  of  justice.  *' As  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  to  you  do  ye  also  to  them 
likewise." 

The  rapid  development  of  industries  has  new- 
made  the  conditions  of  social  life,  and  has  intro- 
duced features  that  are  changing  the  relations 
between  the  chiefs  and  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
industrial   army.      The    personal    element    is    a 


Eliminatio)i  oj  the  Personal  Eloiicnt.      2  5  i 

diminishing  quantity.  Formerly,  the  chiefs  were 
individuals  by  whose  direct  initiative  and  under 
whose  immediate  control  all  was  begun,  con- 
tinued, and  ended,  and  who,  when  they  were 
high-minded  and  generous,  took  an  interest  in 
their  workers  and  their  families,  and  recognised 
their  responsibility  for  the  good  of  their  people. 
This  is  disappearing.  Firms  are  converted  into 
trusts  or  limited  liability  companies ;  syndicates 
rule  markets;  and  trusts,  companies,  syndicates, 
as  such,  have  no  conscience,  sympathy,  or  re- 
sponsibility. All  with  which  they  intromit 
relates  to  business  alone.  The  human  is  sacri- 
ficed to  the  commercial.  In  the  factory  or 
workshop,  there  is  the  boss,  and  there  is  the 
hand ;  in  the  counting  -  house  there  is  the 
manager  or  director.  And  one  result  of  the 
trades-union  is  a  further  elimination  of  the  per- 
sonal. Wages  are  fixed  by  collective  rather 
than  individual  contract.  The  union  prescribes 
the  number  of  apprentices,  marks  off  the 
domain  within  which  its  members  must  work 
and  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done ;  in  various 
ways  limiting  production.  It  has  as  its  last 
word  the  strike;  and,  consequent  on  the  strike, 
the  picketing  and  boycotting  of  non-union  men. 
Economists  assert  that,  in  its  action  and  in  its 
results,  the   union   is    mischievous.     We   do   not 


252  Present- Day  Problems. 

need  to  discuss  the  matter,  for,  the  union  is ; 
and  it  has  come  to  stay.  Whether  or  not  it 
prevents  the  easy  adjustment  of  the  balance  of 
supply  and  demand,  it  has,  beyond  doubt,  materi- 
ally altered  the  industrial  situation.  Two  things 
only  may  be  urged.  The  one  is,  that  if  it 
would  enlist  the  full  sympathy  and  gain  the 
full  confidence  of  the  community,  it  must  not 
cross  the  frontier  between  a  compact  discipline 
and  a  tyranny  of  terror.  And  the  other  is,  that 
whilst  class  unions  may  be  needful,  the  aim  of 
both  employers  and  employed  should  be  to 
avert  conflict  by  taking  occasion  by  the  hand. 
The  deplorable,  disastrous,  strike  should  be  all 
but  impossible.  Surely  there  is  a  more  excellent 
way  of  arbitration,  in  the  event  of  dispute  or 
misunderstanding,  by  which  causes  of  antagon- 
ism may  be  removed. 

But  there  is  only  one  way,  the  socialist  in- 
terjects. The  evils  of  capitalism,  whether  its 
representatives  be  the  individual  plutocrat  or 
the  trust,  cannot  be  mended.  The  only  cure 
is  to  end  the  capitalist.  The  capital  means 
rent,  interest,  or  usury,  and  these  are  banned. 
The  capitalist,  above  all  things,  means  com- 
petition, and  competition  is  stigmatised  as 
"one    of  the   curses    of  civilisation  which    must 


Sjibstittites  for  Compcfifion. 


2S 


^6 


be  got  rid  of  before  substantial  progress  is 
possible."  ^ 

What,  then,  is  to  be  substituted  for  this  curse 
of  civilisation,  which  is  inseparable  from  cap- 
italism ?  and  how  is  the  substitute  to  be  made 
effective  as  a  remedy  for  existing  miseries  and 
injustices  ? 

Emulation  is  presented  as  the  substitute.  In 
the  words  of  Professor  Lodge,  emulation  is  "  the 
aspiration  of  a  soldier  to  lead  a  forlorn-hope,  the 
desire  of  a  student  to  make  a  discovery,  the 
ambition  of  a  merchant  to  develop  a  new 
country  or  establish  a  new  route.  Competition 
is  the  snarling  of  dogs  over  the  same  bone. 
Emulation  is  the  desire  to  do  a  thing  better 
than  it  has  been  done  by  others.  Competition 
is  the  desire  to  do  instead  of  others  that  which 
is  equally  well  done  by  them."^  There  is 
much  that  appeals  to  soul  and  conscience  in 
this  contrast.  The  constant  struggle  of  one 
man  to  outbid  another  is  tiresome,  often  re- 
volting. It  is  responsible  for  wares  *'  cheap 
and  nasty,"  for  tricks  and  dishonesties  in  trade, 
for  lying  advertisements,  for  sweaters'  dens,  for 
scamped  work.  It  thrusts  the  old  aside  and 
ruthlessly  bids  the  more  unfit  drop  behind.     It 

^  Liverpool  Fabian  Tracts,  No.  3  -  IMil. 


2  54  Present- Day  Problems. 

tends  '*to  divert  energies  into  useless  channels 
and  to  degrade  the  character,  while  for  the  un- 
successful it  makes  life  impossible,  and  for  the 
average  man  it  makes  life  a  severe  strain."^ 
To  displace  this  hydra  by  a  nobler  spring  of 
action  is  a  worthy  aim. 

But  we  must  be  sure  of  our  ground ;  we  must 
look  at  human  nature  as  it  is,  and  at  the  facts 
of  life  as  they  are.  The  picture  of  Professor 
Lodge  is  too  roseate.  The  line  between  emula- 
tion and  competition  is  a  thin  line.  Emulation 
denotes  the  heroic;  but  the  heroic  is  far  from 
being  prevalent.  Soldiers  do  aspire  to  lead 
forlorn-hopes,  but  all  soldiers  do  not ;  and  the 
average  soldier,  whilst  doing  his  duty,  is  not 
insensible  to  personal  distinctions.  Students  do 
desire  to  make  discoveries  for  the  promotion  of 
science  and  the  good  of  humanity;  but  the 
average  student  is  by  no  means  indifferent  to 
success  in  the  prizes  of  the  career  he  has 
selected.  Merchants  have  occasionally  the  am- 
bition to  develop  a  new  country  or  establish 
a  new  route,  but  the  average  merchant  con- 
templates a  market  for  goods  and  a  personal 
gain.  The  feathers  of  emulation  may  be  of 
yellow  gold,  but  they  are  always  dipping  into 
the   pots  of  competition.     For,  indeed,  self-love 

^  Liverpool  Fabian  Tracts,  No.  3. 


Co-operation.  255 

is  a  strong  and  persistent  force  in  the  nature 
of  man.  The  altruism  which  denies  and  re- 
presses it,  marks  an  effort  to 

"  wind  ourselves  too  high 
For  mortal  man  beneath  the  sky." 

Self-love  cannot,  and  should  not,  be  scouted  as 
if  it  were  an  unclean  thing.  It  should  be  con- 
trolled and  balanced  by  an  unselfish  love — the 
love  of  the  neighbour  as  the  love  of  the  self. 
No  matter  what  the  circumstances  may  be,  the 
danger  of  self-pushing — in  other  words,  of  com- 
petition— will  appear.  Is  it  to  be  supposed 
that  there  would  be  no  pushing,  no  competi- 
tion, in  a  working-class  State  and  community  ? 
The  old  Adam  will  prove  too  strong  for  any 
young  Melanchthon. 

There  is  no  good  around  which  evils  do  not 
grow.  We  must  set  the  good  against  the  evils, 
and,  in  following  the  one,  take  the  risk  of  the 
others.  Liberty,  scope  for  individual  energy, 
is  a  good  not  to  be  bartered  away  for  a  uni- 
versal servitude.  We  must  look  to  pressures 
of  public  sentiment,  to  the  spread  of  enlighten- 
ment, to  better  organisation,  to  the  power  of 
religion,  to  detach  labour  from  the  excesses  and 
extravagances  of  unhealthy  competitions. 

Now,  the  method  by  which  it   is  proposed   to 


256  Present 'Day  P^'oblems. 

give  effect  to  the  emulative  rather  than  the  com- 
petitive element  is  co-operation ;  and  this  is  a 
word  which  signifies  a  great  Christian  principle. 

We  have  seen  that  on  this  principle  the  Church 
of  Christ  is  built  up.  That  we  are  members  one 
of  another,  that  each  member  is  bound  to  care 
for  the  others,  that  the  social  organism  is  in  its 
entirety  to  minister  to  every  constituent,  and  that 
every  constituent  is  to  supply  vital  force  to  the 
organism,  are  postulates  of  Christianity.  There 
is,  therefore,  a  welcome  waiting  for  the  exten- 
sion of  the  idea  of  co-operation — an  idea  with 
which  is  connected  the  harmonious  development 
of  happy  and  healthy  life. 

Social  co-operation  has  two  sides — production 
and  distribution.  The  data  relating  to  the  one 
side  are  not  sufficient  to  warrant  generalisations ; 
for,  whilst  experiments — some  successful  and  some 
unsuccessful — have  been  made,  they  have  been 
as  yet  on  a  very  limited  scale.  But,  in  distribu- 
tion, the  success  has  been  conspicuous.  In  1862, 
the  sales  of  co-operative  societies  in  the  United 
Kingdom  did  not  amount  to  two  and  a  half 
millions  sterling  ;  in  1900,  they  amounted  to  more 
than  seventy  -  seven  millions  sterling,  and  the 
profits,  by  which  nearly  two  millions  of  members 
were    benefited,    were    between    eight    and    nine 


Co-operative  Societies.  257 

millions  sterling.^  Here  there  is  *'  an  automatic 
system  of  self-help"  which  commends  itself  to 
the  favour  of  all  who  desire  to  uplift  the  poor 
and  oppressed.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the 
results  recorded  have  been  accomplished  by  vol- 
untary effort.  The  societies  have  won  their 
victory  by  competition,  by  the  f^ood  work  they 
have  done,  by  the  good  commodities  which  they 
have  sold,  by  the  steady  growth  of  confidence 
in  their  objects  and  in  their  management.  Their 
expansion  illustrates  the  possibilities  of  a  vigorous 
social  collectivism,  which,  without  attempting  to 
repress  competition,  offers  a  higher  mark  and 
level,   and,  through  the  development  of  opinion 

^  The  report  submitted  to  the  Co-operative  Congress  at  Middle- 
borough  on  May  27  is  most  satisfactory,  as  is  evident  from  the 
figures  presented.  In  1899  the  number  of  members  in  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  was  1,729,976  ;  in  1900  it  was  1,827,653.  In  the 
'Spectator'  of  June  i  it  is  said:  "A  satisfactory  state  of  affairs 
prevails  in  the  productive  societies,  though  room  for  expansion 
exists  in  this  department.  The  report  on  co-operative  agriculture 
is  less  satisfactory,  as,  from  various  causes,  the  agriculturists  of  the 
country  seem  to  be  much  slower  to  recognise  the  benefits  of  co- 
operative action  than  are  those  in  Ireland.  The  figures  with  regard 
to  co-operative  credit  banks,  again,  show  that  Ireland  leads  the  way 
with  a  membership  of  2943  and  a  capital  of  £^(>'](),  as  against  a 
membership  of  1330  and  a  capital  of  ;i^4859  for  England  and  Scot- 
land combined.  It  is  stated,  however,  that  the  benefits  of  these 
banks,  the  members  of  which  are  working  men  and  women  of 
various  occupations,  are  now  being  more  and  more  appreciated." 

R 


258  Present- Day  Problems. 

in  regard  to  it,  and  of  facilities  for  realising  it, 
restrains  the  excesses  of  the  competing  spirit 
within  the  channels  of  a  healthy  energy. 

But  socialism  looks  to  co-operation,  not  as  a 
rule  voluntarily  accepted  and  supported  by  the 
choice  of  free  men,  but  as  the  compulsory  method 
by  which  all  labour  is  to  be  done,  and  all  gain 
for  the  State  and  the  individual  unit  is  to  be 
reaped.  It  is  the  agency  of  the  one  capitalist, 
the  State,  in  all  kinds  of  production  —  mills, 
factories,  foundries,  ironworks,  coal-mines,  &c. 
All  instruments,  tools,  machinery,  are  to  be  the 
property  of  the  collective  capitalist,  which  shall 
divide  to  every  man  according  as  he  labours. 
None  are  to  compete,  all  are  to  serve.  None 
are  to  be  waged ;  for,  wages  imply  contracts  for 
labour,  and  such  contracts  are  to  be  abolished. 
Each  is  to  have  what  is  allotted  to  him  as  the 
value  of  his  produce.  "  Compulsory  minima  " 
may  be  supplemented  by  "  honorific  induce- 
ments," but  any  wealth  granted  must  be  spent 
only  on  consumable  things.  Is  it  too  much  to 
affirm  that  the  scheme  carried  consistently  out 
to  its  utmost  limits  is  impossible  ?  If  it  were 
possible,  the  experience  of  great  systems  which 
are  monopolies  suggests  that  there  would  be  a 
lack  in  initiative,  in  readiness  to  adopt  improve- 
ments involving  departures  from  rules  and  ways 


Social  Values.  259 

that  have  been  fixed.  To  all  State  action  a  "  cir- 
cumlocution office"  is  attached,  and,  in  every  de- 
partment, workers  accustomed  to  arrangements 
with  which  they  are  familiar  might  interpose 
obstacles  to  new  modes  and  machineries ;  and 
would  they  not  have  a  right  to  do  so  ?  How  are 
social  labours  and  values  to  be  estimated  ?  Dr 
Schaffle  pertinently  asks,  "  Whether  the  common 
wealth  of  the  socialists  would  be  able  to  cope 
with  the  enormous  socialistic  book-keeping,  and 
to  estimate  correctly  heterogeneous  labour  accord- 
ing to  socialistic  units  of  labour-time?"^  And, 
after  all,  a  civilisation,  such  as  that  of  the  twen- 
tieth century,  has  a  wealth  and  a  variety  of  which 
socialism  takes  little  account,  and  which  a  pro- 
letariat State,  with  a  vulture-like  eye  to  material 
good,  might  omit  from  its  purview,  "reducing 
the  colours  of  life  in  number  and  robbing  them 
of  their  vividness."  It  is  said  that  new  forces 
will  be  called  out  and  new  potencies  will  be 
operative.  Some,  in  their  scepticism,  may  be 
disposed  to  return  Hotspur's  answer  to  the  boast 
of  Glendower — 

" '  I  can  call  spirits  from  the  vasty  deep.' 
*  Why,  so  can  I,  or  so  can  any  man  ; 
But  will  they  come  when  you  do  call  for  them  ?'" 


^  Quintessence,  p.  70. 


26o 


CHAPTER    XII. 

MORAL   AND    RELIGIOUS   ASPECTS    OF    SOCIALISM. 

The  criticism  to  which  the  previous  chapter  was 
devoted  indicates  the  grounds  on  which  assent  is 
withheld  from  the  economic  positions  of  sociaHsm. 
The  judgment  condemns  these  as  unsound  and  im- 
practicable, even  though  the  mind  is  sympathetic 
with  the  endeavour  to  elevate  the  permanent  con- 
ditions of  the  toiling  masses,  and  though  it  recog- 
nises many  elements  of  truth  in  the  ideal  of  society 
and  of  the  State.  But  from  the  Christian  stand- 
point the  outlook  is  wider  than  that  of  economics. 
The  contention  of  some  is,  that  the  question  at  issue 
should  not  be  complicated  by  a  reference  to  moral 
and  religious  interests,  that  the  purview  of  social- 
ism does  not  extend  beyond  the  range  of  politics, 
and  that  only  as  a  social-political  system  should 
it  be  considered  and  tested.  This  contention  will 
not  hold.  The  political  and  the  ethical  cannot 
be  put  asunder.     Any  and  every  constitution  of 


Soc  ia  lis  tic  Propaga  nda.  261 

society  must  affect  the  character  of  those  whom 
it  includes  ;  it  must  influence  the  *'  conduct,  which 
is  three-fourths  of  Hfe."  To  say  of  a  social  adjust- 
ment that  it  is  non-moral,  is  to  condemn  it  as  anti- 
moral.  Moreover,  the  claim  of  the  socialist  is 
that  the  polity  which  he  proposes  is  his  morality.^ 
He  professes  to  find  in  it  all  that  enters  into  the 
content  of  justice,  of  righteousness,  of  the  brother- 
hood of  men,  and  all  that  is  efficient  in  the  way  of 
motive.  It  is,  therefore,  strictly  relevant  to  the 
matter  in  hand,  as  it  is  necessary  to  the  determin- 
ation of  the  attitude  and  duty  of  the  Church,  to 
consider  the  consequences  of  the  persistent  social- 
istic propagandism  by  which  we  are  confronted, 
and  the  moral  and  religious  bearing  of  the  theories 
which  this  propagandism  emphasises  as  the  only 
solution  of  the  problems  of  poverty  and  labour. 

None  can  be  conversant  with  the  feeling  which 
is  reflected  in  papers,  tracts,  and  treatises  that  are 
largely  circulated,  and  none  can  mingle,  with  some 
freedom,  among  the  working  classes  in  our  cities 
without  observing,  within  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
an  increasing,  a  more  openly  expressed,  spirit  of 
discontent.      Take  up   "a  new  age"  journal,  or 

1  "The  polity  of  the  socialist  is  his  morality,  and  his  reasoned 
morality  may,  in  the  old  sense  of  the  word,  be  termed  his  religion." 
—The  Ethic  of  Free  Thought,  p.  319. 


262  Present- Day  Problems. 

listen  to  the  conversation  or  the  oratory  of  those 
whom  such  a  journal  represents.  The  reiteration 
is,  of  wrongs  inflicted  by  capital  and  capitalists  ; 
of  injustices  of  taxation,  rent,  administration ;  of 
rotten  conditions  to  which  are  due  the  poverty, 
the  exploitation  of  the  many  and  the  enrichment 
of  the  few ;  of  long  labour-time  and  hard  labour- 
lot  ;  of  the  heartlessness  of  the  rich,  the  pride  of 
the  privileged,  the  worldliness  of  Churches  and  of 
clergy;  of  the  need  of  revolution  to  set  things  right 
and  to  enforce  the  demands  of  the  labourer ;  of  the 
golden  time  that  will  come  when  the  transforma- 
tions, the  expropriations,  and  the  appropriations 
of  socialism  are  realised.  Sometimes  the  language 
is  that  of  thoughtfulness  and  earnestness ;  some- 
times it  is  that  which,  without  reflection,  repeats 
catch-words  learned  at  second-hand  ;  sometimes  it 
is  that  of  the  frivolous,  if  not  the  corrupt,  mind : 
but  it  passes  to  and  fro,  and  produces  stir,  fer- 
ment, bitterness  of  feeling.  It  may  be  said  that 
this  is  true  of  only  a  fraction  of  the  labouring 
class,  or  of  any  class.  Perhaps  so ;  but  the  frac- 
tion is  neither  inconsiderable  nor  uninfluential. 
It  is  larger  than  many  suppose.  It  has  always 
some  facts  by  which  to  support  its  assertions. 
It  possesses  the  faculty  of  diffusion  which  attaches 
to  strong  opinions  strongly  uttered. 


Infltience  of  Continental  Opinion.      263 

A  contributory  cause,  and  a  conspicuous  ele- 
ment, of  this  disaffection  may  be  noticed. 

Socialism  has  an  international  propaganda.  Its 
boast  is  that  it  is  emancipated  from  the  limita- 
tions of  country,  that  its  cause  is  the  common 
cause  of  the  proletariat  everywhere.  Through  its 
clubs,  its  associations,  and  its  publications ;  by 
means  of  the  focussing  of  all  shades  of  opinion  in 
London — the  aroma  of  Continental  and  American 
sentiment  is  communicated  to  the  agitation  in 
Great  Britain.  Now,  though  the  extreme  views 
advocated  elsewhere  have  no  vogue  in  this 
country,  a  certain  influence  is  communicated 
through  them.  The  anarchism  which  is  in  evi- 
dence in  Germany  has  not  many  avowed  sup- 
porters, but  thought  is  coloured  by  the  idea  of 
anarchy,  as  interpreted  by  Proudhon  in  the  sen- 
tences, "That  the  political  function  be  reabsorbed 
in  the  industrial.  Thus  social  order  will  ensue 
spontaneously  out  of  the  simple  operation  of 
transactions  and  exchanges.  Every  man  might 
then  be  called  autocrat  of  himself,  which  is  the 
extreme  reverse  of  monarchical  absolutism."  ^ 
Michael  Bakunin  is  not  the  leader  of  any  com- 
pany of  British  sociaHsts.  His  proclamation  of 
"war  to  the  death  against  all  existing  society,  so 

1  Die  Prix  Frederatif,  p.  29. 


264  Present- Day  Problems. 

that  the  revolutionist  must  be  prepared  to  die,  to 
kill  with  his  own  hands  all  who  obstruct  the 
revolution,"^  would  be  repudiated,  except  by  a 
very  few,  whose  reception  of  the  fierce  saying 
makes  them  the  most  dangerous  of  the  dangerous 
class.  But  his  "  running  amuck  against  all  ac- 
cepted principles  in  religion,  in  politics,  in  domes- 
tic and  social  life,"^  is  at  least  faintly  shadowed 
in  the  tones  of  many.  The  American  socialist, 
who  would  regulate,  not  merely  the  production 
and  distribution  of  wealth,  but  even  the  consump- 
tion of  goods,^  goes  further  than  his  brethren 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  would  allow,  but,  in 
some  demands  which  are  formulated  as  to  the 
absorption  of  all  private  property  in  a  common 
good,  affinity  is  joined  with  him.  Thus,  though 
the  crystallised  view  of  extremists  is  disavowed,  a 
virus  is  insinuated  into  the  talk  of  societies  and 
the  representations  of  current  literature,  and  the 
vat  is  kept  in  ferment. 

But  the  discontent  alluded  to  is  largely  fed 
by  that  passion  for  equality  which,  as  De 
Tocqueville  has  remarked,  is  the  passion  of 
democracies.  Equality  of  condition,  equality  of 
opportunity;    none  above  and   none   below;    all 

1  Quoted  in  '  Contemporary  Socialism,'  p.  275. 
'■^  Contemporary  Socialism,  p.  267. 
'^  Parsons  of  Chicago. 


Equality.  265 

masters,  no  servants ;  none  with  a  more  favour- 
able start  or  stadium  than  others— such   is  the 
vision  by  which  the  imagination  is  dazzled,  and 
both  enthusiastic  and  despondent  spirits  in  this 
social  era  hail  it.      They  hail  what  cannot  be. 
**  Nature,"  says  Renan,  "  is  injustice  itself,"  ^  in- 
asmuch as  it  teems  with   inequalities.      It  is  a 
mere    commonplace    to    say    that    the    equality 
craved   is    an  idle  dream,   so   long   as  there  are 
differences    in    capacity,    in    gifts,    in    aptitudes 
physical,   mental,   and   moral.      All  that  can    be 
done  is  to  secure  that  every  one  shall  have  the 
best   possible   opportunity,    that   there    shall    be 
no    unnecessary    clogs    on    energy,    that    there 
shall  be   "  a  more  effective  participation  of  the 
poor   equally   with   the    rich    in   the   civilisation 
which    the    increased     productive    resources    of 
society   afford   the    means   of    enjoying."  ^      But 
when  it  is  urged,  as   in  the  essays  of  socialists 
it    is   urged,    that    "the    State    ought    to    make 
use   of  its   legitimate   powers   for   the  establish- 
ment of  the  equality  of  conditions  among  men 
according   to   their   personal   merit,"  ^   a   task  is 
imposed    on    the    State   which    it    is    unable    to 
fulfil.     The  standards— equality  of  condition  and 

^  Quoted  by  M.  de  Laveleye  in  '  Contemporary  Review.' 

2  Professor  Wagner,  Art.  "  Finan-Politik  und  Staat  sozialismus." 

3  M.  de  Laveleye  in  •Contemporary  Review.' 


266  Present- Day  Problems. 

personal  merit — are  inconsistent ;  even  if  they 
were  harmonious,  '*  it  would  be  beyond  the 
power  of  the  State  to  realise  them  for  want 
of  an  effective  calculus  of  either."  ^  To  inflame 
unreflective  minds  by  holding  up  prospects 
which  are  mere  chimeras,  and  inducing  the 
feeling  that  they  are  defrauded  of  some  rights 
because  of  a  failure  to  apply  the  powers  of  the 
State  on  their  behalf — that  the  plu^  which  others 
have  is  the  reason  of  their  ntimis,  and  that  this 
plus  should  be  taken  away  —  is  to  appeal  to 
what  is  meanest  in  human  nature,  uselessly  to 
embitter  feeling,  and  to  divert  the  attention 
from  the  possibilities  of  improvement  which  are 
within  the  reach  of  all  who  apply  their  best 
energy  in  making  the  most  of  the  situations 
that  open  to  them. 

We  speak  of  a  "  divine  discontent "  ;  and  the 
hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness,  the  refusal 
to  allow  that  the  soul  has  ever  attained  to  the 
full  truth  of  its  life  and  the  eager  pressing  on- 
ward and  upward,  may  be  so  termed.  A  certain 
discontent  is  caused  by  the  advance  of  civilisa- 
tion, and  is  itself  a  cause  of  further  advance. 
In  the  measure  in  which  standards  of  wellbeing 
are  heightened,  wants  multiply,  new  needs  are 
created,    new  ambitions   are   developed;    and   to 

^  Contemporary  Socialism,  p.  385. 


Social  Discontent,  267 

satisfy  these,  to  realise  "life  more  and  fuller,"  is 
an  incitement  to  progress.  But  there  is  a  right 
and  there  is  a  wrong  discontent :  right,  when 
the  desire  to  be  is  superior  to  the  mere  desire 
to  have,  when  the  mind  does  not  confuse  the 
conditions  of  happiness  with  happiness,  and 
understands  that  the  secret  of  felicity  is  the 
better  man  rather  than  the  better  circumstance ; 
when  to  be  true  to  oneself  and  to  gain  the  full 
advantage  of  all  the  good  that  lies  in  the  actual 
position,  is  more  than  a  mere  craving  to  get 
some  good  that  another  has,  or  that  lies  out- 
with  the  sphere  of  the  practicable.  There  is 
too  little  of  this  right  sort ;  there  is  too  much 
of  the  wrong  —  that  which  is  closely  akin  to 
covetousness — in  all  circles  and  classes.  But 
there  are  elements  which  give  a  peculiar  as- 
perity to  the  merely  covetous  instinct  when  it 
is  sharpened  by  invectives  against  society  in 
general,  and  especially  against  those  who  are 
represented  as  neither  toiHng  nor  spinning.  By 
all  means  denounce  the  idle  rich  as  well  as 
the  idle  poor.  By  all  means  insist  that  the 
only  privilege  shall  be  that  which  consists  with 
useful  service,  and  that  all,  in  consideration  of 
what  they  receive  through  the  corporate  life  of 
the  nation,  shall  contribute  by  honest  work  to 
the   commonwealth.     But,    to   indulge   in    indis- 


268  Present- Day  Probleins, 

criminate  diatribes  against  those  whose  share 
of  the  world's  good  is  larger  than  that  of  some ; 
to  be  for  ever  inveighing  against  existing  con- 
stitutions, and  stirring  up  strife  and  envy  by 
dwelling  on  the  rights  of  which  capital  and 
privilege  defraud  the  labourer,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  duties  that  he  owes  to  his  world  and 
his  God,  and  of  the  call  to  help  himself  and 
utilise  the  sources  and  occasions  of  happiness 
that  lie  to  his  hand, — is  simply  to  rob  the  life 
of  its  essential  dignity  and  worth,  and  to 
corrupt  noble  aspiration  into  an  ignoble  and 
rankling  covetousness.  Cui  bono  ?  Does  the 
nurture  of  this  species  of  discontent  tend  to 
quicken  the  impulses  of  benevolence  ?  Certainly 
not.  Does  it  tend  to  strengthen  domestic  and 
family  relations  ?  The  writer  has  known  many 
who,  under  the  spell  of  socialistic  agitation,  felt 
the  simplicities  of  home -life  irksome,  became 
dissatisfied  with  all  the  surrounding,  and  ceased 
to  interest  themselves  in  causes  which  they  had 
previously  furthered.  Does  it  give  elevation  to 
the  character?  It  robs  the  character  of  a 
purifying  idealism,  hitherto  one  of  the  finest 
features  in  the  working  classes  of  our  country, 
and  narrows  the  vision  of  the  life  to  a  jealous 
observation  of,  and  fruitless  sighing  after,  un- 
attainable   conditions    ''  of    the    earth,    earthy." 


Moral  Principles  and  Issues.         269 

This  is  the  manner,  this  is  the  result,  of  a  dis- 
content which  spreads  as  sociahsm  spreads,  and 
which,  though  now  kept  in  subordination  by 
counteracting  influences,  has  the  potentiahty  of 
increasing  from  a  disturbing  element  into  the 
wild  fury  of  a  hurricane. 

But  further ;  in  the  consideration  of  a  system 
which  is  presented  as  the  realisation  of  the  social 
ideal,  one  of  the  main  interests  to  the  mind,  look- 
ing on  it  in  the  light  of  Christian  truth,  must  be 
its  relation  to  the  moral  law,  to  the  principles 
and  issues  on  which  the  moral  life  of  the  people 
is  built.  The  subject  thus  suggested  is  so  wide 
that  special  topics  must  only  be  glanced  at. 
For  example,  family  life.  It  would  be  unfair 
to  identify  socialism  as  a  political  scheme  with 
the  statements  of  its  advocates.  It  is  entirely 
compatible  with,  and  is  often  held  along  with, 
strict  views  as  to  the  foundation  and  the 
responsibilities  of  the  home.  But  the  tend- 
encies of  the  thought  of  its  expositors  need  to 
be  watched.  Thus,  in  an  important  work  under 
the  joint  authorship  of  the  late  Mr  Morris  and 
Bax,  it  is  said  that,  with  the  advent  of  social 
economic  freedom,  ''  no  binding  contract  between 
parties  as  regards  livelihood  would  be  necessary, 
property  in  children  would  cease  to  exist,  a  new 


2  70  Present-Day  Problems, 

development  of  the  family  would  take  place,  on 
the  basis  not  of  a  predetermined  lifelong  business 
arrangement,  to  be  formally  and  nominally  held 
to,  irrespective  of  circumstances,  but  on  mutual 
inclination  and  affection,  terminable  at  the  will 
of  either  party."  ^  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
this  "  new  development "  is  contemplated  by 
some,  and  these  not  the  least  influential,  of  the 
leaders  of  the  "  new  society."  And,  in  their  plans 
of  education,  such  an  assumption  of  responsibility 
and  provision  for  children  is  indicated  as  would 
practically  relieve  parents  of  all  but  a  mere  frac- 
tion of  their  responsibility.^ 

But,  without  dwelling  on  particular  points,  it 
may  be  asked  whether,  in  respect  both  of  what 
it  introduces  into  its  moral  features,  and  of  what 
it  omits,  it  must  not  be  held  to  be  wanting. 

It  is  a  protest  against  selfishness — the  selfish- 
ness of  capital.  The  charge  that  it  levels 
against  the  political  economy  which  it  would 
supersede  is  that  it  ministers  to  selfishness  in 
its  view  of  wealth,  in  its  theory  of  barter,  in  its 
aims  and  its  canons.  It  condemns  the  existing 
order  as  founded  on  and  supported  by  selfishness 
— that  of  competition,  man  against  man.  Its 
lash  is  specially  reserved  for  the  capitalist — the 

^  Socialism,  p.  299. 

-  E.g..  Fabian  Society  Tract  on  Education. 


A  Form  of  Selfishness.  271 

selfish  thief  who  has  stolen  the  surplus  value  of 
the  labourer.  We  have  conceded  that  there  are 
circumstances  which  give  an  occasion  for  the 
protest.  It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  of 
any  system — human  nature  being  what  it  is — 
which  did  not  afford  an  occasion.  But  when 
the  socialist  inveighs  against  society  as  unjust 
and  selfish,  does  he  propose  to  overcome  the 
evil  that  is  denounced  with  good  ?  Is  he  not 
setting  up  another  selfishness  in  opposition  to 
that  which  he  arraigns  ?  In  making  the  in- 
terests of  labour  and  of  the  labourer  the  one 
point  and  goal ;  in  ignoring  the  elements  that 
minister  to  the  higher  taste  and  culture  except 
in  so  far  as  they  can  be  harmonised  with  a 
working-class  standard  of  utilities  ;  in  confining 
all  his  perspectives  within  the  range  of  a  material 
good  and  a  material  paradise,  is  he  not  evoking, 
and  providing  nourishment  for,  a  very  intense 
and  de-toning  selfishness  ? 

Socialism,  again,  holds  aloft  the  banner  of 
brotherhood.  Its  altruism  is  that  of  a  frater- 
nity whose  method  is  co-operation,  whose  noblesse 
oblige  is  the  sense  of  membership  one  in  another. 
This  it  learned  of  Christ ;  and  it  is  a  reproach 
to  the  Church  which  bears  His  name  that  the 
practical  applications  of  its  Lord's  new  covenant 
are  often  more  striking  in  associations  that  con- 


272  Present- Day  Problems, 

nect  only  with  the  outer  circle  of  Christianity 
than  they  are  within  its  gates.  But  when  we 
scan  the  socialistic  fraternity,  what  do  we  see  ? 
It  is  a  fraternity  that  is  not  based  on  the  con- 
sciousness of  a  higher  relation — that  of  sonship 
to  God.  Some  socialists  recognise  this;  but,  in 
being  Christian  socialists,  they  part  from  the  body 
of  opinion  which  represents  all  that  is  most 
active  and  influential.  In  its  federation,  there 
is  no  reference  to  the  authority  and  example  of  a 
supreme  love  which  "  will  endure  when  all  that 
seems  shall  suffer  shock."  It  is  essentially  a  class 
brotherhood  for  the  furtherance  of  class  interests 
and  ends — interests  and  ends  which,  according  to 
its  programme,  can  be  secured  only  through  ex- 
propriations and  confiscations  that  go  perilously 
near  to  the  violation  of  the  command,  '*Thou 
shalt  not  steal,"  and  which,  if  secured  by  the 
method  proposed,  would  involve  the  drying  up 
of  the  springs  of  individual  liberty  and  energy — 
the  triumph  of  a  partial  proletariat  to-day,  at  the 
cost  of  a  universal  proletariat  to-morrow.  The 
notes  of  the  old  Bethlehem  song  are  not  heard 
in  it :  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
peace,  good-will  toward  men." 

It  is  maintained  that  the  aim  of  socialism  is  the 
establishment  of  social  righteousness ;  and  it  would 
be  unjust  to  deny  that  this  is  within  the  view  of 


An  Omission.  273 

its  supporters.  The  objection  taken  is  not  to  the 
end  intended;  it  is  to  the  omission  of  an  ante- 
cedent condition  which  is  essential  to  the  attain- 
ment of  the  end.  That  condition  is  personal 
righteousness.  According  to  Mr  Karl  Pearson, 
the  differentiation  of  socialism  from  other  political 
and  social  movements  is  that  it  identifies  morality 
with  the  polity  which  it  presents.^  The  seat 
of  morality  is  thus  transferred  to  the  system. 
Righteousness  consists  in  submitting  to  it  and 
in  promoting  it.  But  the  oracle  is  silent  on  the 
question,  how  the  harmony  between  the  individual 
and  this  social  happiness  is  to  be  effected.  A  man 
is  not  a  mere  atom  that  can  be  fitted  into  a  place. 
He  is  a  person  with  a  free  activity,  with  a  will, 
and  with  a  force  that  may  be  anarchic ;  one  in 
whom  there  is  a  conflict  between  inclinations, 
between  a  law  in  his  members  and  another  and 
higher  law  of  his  mind.  He  needs  to  be  set 
right,  and  no  mere  economic  conditions  can, 
do  this.  Irruptions  of  passion ;  the  corrosive 
power  of  selfishness  ;  the  promptings  of  ambi- 
tion, of  greed,  of  a  desire  for  mastery  rather  than 
ministry  ;  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the 
eye,  and  the  pride  of  life  ;  tendencies  to  indolence 
and  indulgence,  to  weakness,  wilfulness,  wayward- 
ness  of  temper,  —  these   cannot   be   disregarded. 

^  Ut  supra,  The  Ethics  of  Free  Thought,  p.  29, 
S. 


2  74  Present- Day  Probleriis. 

They  will  interfere  with  the  acceptance  of  the 
most  rational  of  ends  ;  they  will  break  through  the 
most  perfect  of  disciplines.  How  is  the  inward 
adjustment  to  be  realised  ?  Socialism  has  no 
place  for  the  word  sin  :  alas !  human  nature  has. 
The  man  and  what  he  is  in  himself  is  not 
a  consideration  secondary  to  and  dependent  on 
that  of  his  circumstances  :  it  is  the  consider- 
ation on  which  his  true  wellbeing  depends.  In 
laying  the  whole  stress  on  external  conditions, 
in  making  these  the  main  cause  and  the  chief 
element  of  the  earthly  paradise,  the  system  under 
review  is  ethically  imperfect,  and  is  inadequate 
to  the  purpose  it  contemplates — that  of  bringing 
in  a  new  era,  "  a  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness."  A  regenerated  society  means 
regenerated  persons ;  persons  with  a  right  spirit, 
persons  in  whom  there  is  a  supreme  power 
making  the  life  consistent  by  an  effective  moral 
self-rule.  And  when  this  is  belittled,  the  goal 
that  is  interpreted  by  an  eloquent  socialistic 
writer  as  "  the  perfecting  of  human  nature  in 
the  whole  hierarchy  of  functions,  headed  by  the 
moral  ones  "  ^  is  certainly  missed. 

When    its    ethic    is    unsatisfactory,    it    is    not 

^  Thomas    Davidson,    The    Moral    Aspects    of   the    Economic 
Question,  p.   ii. 


Hostility  to  the  Church.  275 

to  be  wondered  at  that,  in  the  advocacy  of 
socialism,  an  attitude  of  indifference,  frequently 
of  hostility,  to  the  worship  and  ministry  of  the 
Church  is  developed.  Not  that  this  is  true  of 
all  socialists ;  for,  there  are  many  such  who  are 
at  the  same  time  devout  and  earnest  Christians, 
and  there  are  others  whose  aversion  is  not  to 
the  Christian  faith,  which  they  sincerely  hold, 
with  reservations  and  interpretations  at  variance 
with  orthodox  standards,  but  to  the  existing 
constitutions  and  to  the  spirit  and  practice  of 
the  Churches.  This  latter  class  of  socialists 
forms  a  kind  of  intermediary  element  between 
the  Church  and  —  as  it  must  with  sorrow  be 
affirmed  —  the  dominant  tone  and  bearing  of 
socialism.  Who  that  has  read  both  its  more 
permanent  and  its  more  ephemeral  expositions, 
and  that  has  heard  the  talk  and  speeches  of 
its  adherents,  is  not  familiar  with  invectives 
against  the  clergy,  against  the  Church  as  the 
"  peculiar "  of  the  bourgeoisie  and  capitalist,  as 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  labourer  and  the 
struggle  in  behalf  of  labour,  as  toadying  to  the 
rich  and  despising  the  poor,  as  a  miserable 
siimdacrum  of  the  religion  which  it  neither 
apprehends  nor  teaches,  and  so  forth.  Now, 
whilst  assuredly  the  Church  is  not  free  from 
blame ;  whilst,  in  its  arrangements  for  worship. 


276  Pre  sent -Day  Problems. 

a  pretext  may  be  found  for  the  charge  that  its 
sanctuaries  are  meant  for  those  who  can  pay ; 
whilst  the  rich  transgressor  is  sometimes  shielded 
by  the  Church  to  which  he  is  a  liberal  con- 
tributor; whilst  ministers  of  religion  have  not 
realised  the  rapport  they  might  have  realised 
with  social  wants  and  aspirations ;  whilst  all 
this  and  more  may  be  granted,  the  root  of  the 
antipathy  referred  to  is  deeper  than  any  ob- 
jection that  may  be  taken  to  the  necessary 
imperfections  of  an  ecclesiastical  organisation. 
The  root  is  a  radical  divergence  from  the  re- 
ligious ideal.  Sometimes  the  cry  is  wild  and 
fierce.  "  Our  enemy,"  a  congress  at  Geneva 
proclaimed,  "is  every  abstract  authority,  whether 
called  devil  or  good  God,  in  the  name  of  which 
priests  have  so  long  governed  good  souls."  But, 
even  when  the  voice  is  more  subdued,  there  is 
no  transcendency  or  spirituality  in  it.  Herzen, 
who  was  associated  with  Bakunin  in  the  con- 
solidation of  Russian  nihilism,  but  who  after- 
wards separated  himself  from  the  revolutionary 
party  which  he  had  helped  to  form,  spoke  of 
socialism  *'  as  the  new  terrestrial  religion  in 
which  there  is  to  be  neither  God  nor  heaven."  ^ 
And  the  whole  effect  of  the  philosophy  which  it 
inculcates   is   to   eliminate   the    eternal   and   the 

^  Contemporary  Socialism,  p,  261, 


Earthliness  in  Prospect.  277 

spiritual.  There  is  no  need  of  a  Saviour  from 
sin;  for,  sin  is  not  in  its  thought.  The  other 
world  with  what  it  calls  *'its  stage  properties" 
has  no  place  whatever.  It  is  entirely  terrestrial. 
In  the  words  of  Professor  Flint,  "  Even  when  it 
does  not  expressly  deny  the  fundamental  con- 
victions on  which  Christianity  rests,  it  ignores 
them.  It  leaves  out  of  account  God  and 
divine  law,  sees  in  morality  simply  a  means  to 
generate  happiness,  and  recognises  no  properly 
spiritual  and  eternal  Hfe.  It  conceives  of  the 
whole  duty  of  mankind  as  consisting  in  the 
pursuit  and  production  of  social  enjoyment. 
Hence  its  ideal  of  the  highest  good,  and  con- 
sequently of  human  conduct,  is  essentially 
different  from  the  Christian  ideal,  and  thus  it 
necessarily  comes  into  direct  conflict  with 
Christianity."^ 

This  earthliness  in  prospect,  aim,  and  motive 
is  infecting  the  life  of  the  working  classes  in 
our  country,  and  indeed  is  infecting  the  life  of 
all  classes.  It  is  the  cause  underlying  much 
of  the  alienation  from  social  Christian  worship 
that  prevails.  What  can  this  worship  mean 
to  those  whose  whole  interest  is  narrowed  by 
the  vision  of  a  mere  earthly  paradise,  and  to 
whom  the  terms  God,   Christ,   immortality,  life 

^  Socialism,  p.  461. 


278  Present- Day  Problems. 

everlasting,  contain  no  reality  ?  In  working- 
class  centres,  labour -churches  are  offered  as  a 
substitute  for  the  churches  which  are  de- 
nounced; and  in  these  assemblies  the  ''ter- 
restrial religion,"  in  the  form  of  addresses  on 
the  rights  of  labour  and  the  wrongs  of  the 
labourer,  and  on  the  principles  and  methods 
of  the  new  economy,  is  preached.  The  evil 
charged  against  the  Church  of  being  a  class 
assembly  is  presented  in  another  form.  It  is 
the  class  interest,  it  is  the  controversy  with 
society,  it  is  the  propagation  of  a  certain  type 
of  opinion,  that  predominates.  And,  without  as 
well  as  within  the  Sunday  assembly,  in  the 
socialism  of  the  chair  and  in  that  of  the  street, 
this  type  is  in  evidence. 

The  bearing  and  the  duty  of  the  Christian 
Church  towards  the  socialism  that  has  been 
reviewed  is  one  of  the  most  serious  questions 
that  we  are  bound  to  face.  To  some  extent, 
as  we  have  seen,  there  is  an  opposition  between 
ideals,  and  this  represents  a  divergence  in  spirit 
and  in  purpose,  the  widening  of  which  would  be 
disastrous  to  society.  What  needs  to  be  demon- 
strated is  that,  on  the  one  hand,  the  rejection 
of  the  spiritual  aspect  of  life  is  an  untruth  to 
the  conception  of  life  as  a  whole,  and  that,  on 


Christian  Attitudes,  279 

the  other  hand,  Christianity,  in  emphasising  the 
spiritual,  does  not  the  less,  but  all  the  more, 
seek  to  promote  all  that  contributes  to  social 
betterment.  Paradises  may  be  left  out  of  ac- 
count. The  aim  of  the  religion  of  Christ  is  to 
make  the  human  life  that  is,  more  blessed  and 
less  accursed,  fuller,  richer,  more  distinctly  in 
sight  at  once  of  all  that  it  can  be  here,  and  of 
that  vision  of  God  which  is  supreme  and  eternal 
blessedness.  How  to  prove  this — how  to  incor- 
porate the  permanent  truth  of  the  system  or 
systems  whose  features  have  been  scanned  with 
the  practical  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  the 
matter  as  to  which  there  is  abundant  occasion 
for  *'a  spirit  not  of  fear;  but  of  power,  and  of 
love,  and  of  a  sound  mind." 

Patience  is  required.  The  entrance  of  a  great 
idea,  of  a  great  regulative  principle,  into  the  living 
thought  of  men  is  always  marked  by  crude  theor- 
ising, by  exaggerated  assertion,  by  almost  wild 
rushes  in  directions  to  which  the  idea  seems  to 
point.  By-and-by,  when  theories  are  sifted  and 
the  soundness  of  schemes  is  tested,  there  comes 
that  moderating  influence  which  we  call  common- 
sense  (unless,  indeed,  by  some  foolish  action  a 
catastrophe  is  precipitated).  What  is  extreme  is 
discounted,  and  such  parts  of  schemes  as  approve 
themselves   to   reason   are  accepted  and  become 


28o  Present- Day  Proble77ts. 

subservient  to  the  common-weal.  So  it  is  at 
present.  In  a  law-abiding  country  such  as  ours, 
with  institutions  that  can  be  expanded  and  modi- 
fied without  the  loss  of  historical  continuity,  we 
may  hope  that  the  unattainable  will  gradually 
fall  out  of  view,  and  that  a  collectivism  shall  be 
realised,  which,  without  suppressing  individual 
freedom  and  energy,  but  rather  stimulating  and 
guiding  it,  shall  secure  more  effective  legisla- 
tion and  larger  benefits  for  the  community.  To 
this  end  Christian  citizenship  should  look  and 
strive.  It  should  have  an  open  mind  in  the 
observation  of  every  movement ;  keenly  scrutin- 
ising all  that  seems  at  conflict  with  public  and 
personal  morality,  but  sympathetic  with  every 
wise  endeavour  to  support  the  life  of  each  part 
by  the  corporate  action  of  the  body  politic. 
When  we  can  work  with  others  whose  opinions 
are  more  pronounced  than  the  Christian  con- 
science can  approve,  for  the  furtherance  of  a 
really  beneficial  result  (assuming  that  they  will 
work  with  us),  then  let  there  be  co-operation. 
This,  surely,  is  the  commandment  of  the  love  of 
man  for  Christ's  sake. 

Study  of  social  life  and  social  questions  is 
requisite.  The  Church's  diagnosis  of  social  needs 
and  evils  may  be  faulty.  It  may  be  necessary, 
in  loyalty  to  the  Lord  and  to  the  age  that  calls 


Christian  Social  Unions.  281 

for  service,  to  unlearn  much,  and  to  learn  still 
more.  Christ's  house  is  bound  only  to  Him  and 
His  supreme  authority.  It  is  not  bound  to  any 
political  economy;  it  is  not  committed  to  any 
form  or  method  of  government.  In  a  lofty  sense, 
it  is  to  be  "  all  things  to  all  men,  that  it  may  gain 
some."  If  it  would  be  faithful,  it  must  wait  on 
its  Lord,  not  in  the  sanctuary  only,  but  in  the 
world  into  which  it  is  sent,  piercing  beneath  the 
surface  of  things  into  the  inner  places  of  humanity, 
into  the  submergencies  of  the  population,  into  the 
secrets  of  all  its  struggles,  that  it  may  recognise 
the  signal  of  His  hand,  that,  through  communion 
with  His  mind,  it  may  understand  what  He  is 
saying  to  it.  In  the  Christian  Social  Unions  of 
England  and  Scotland,  we  can  hail  the  token 
of  an  increasing  desire  more  thoroughly  to  reach 
to  the  rock-beds  of  social  topics,  and  to  apply 
the  truths  of  Christ's  teaching  to  them.  These 
unions  have  an  important  mission ;  for,  they  may 
remind  all  that  Churches  must,  on  the  one  hand, 
guard  against  the  dead-weight  of  worn-out  con- 
ventionalisms, of  adherence  to  mere  use  and  wont- 
ness,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  against  the  adoption 
of  hasty  and  ill-considered  views.  Truth  is  our 
aim.  Forbid  that,  in  the  day  in  which  we  live, 
the  Church  of  the  Lord  should  reproduce  the 
picture  of  the  unready  king. 


282  Present- Day  Problems. 

On  special  issues,  such  as  *'  the  strikes  "  which 
occasionally  raise  desolating  storms  in  the  in- 
dustrial world,  the  individual  citizen,  be  he  clergy- 
man or  layman,  is  entitled  to  think  and  speak  for 
himself,  though,  if  he  is  wise,  he  will  be  reticent 
in  speech ;  but  when  the  Church,  in  its  unity,  is 
represented,  the  utmost  caution  should  be  exer- 
cised. The  late  Bishop  Westcott  was  a  successful 
mediator  in  a  great  strife  in  his  diocese.  But 
he  occupied  an  exceptionally  high  position  :  by 
the  width  of  his  sympathies,  the  fulness  of  his 
knowledge,  and  the  soundness  of  his  judgment, 
he  was  trusted  as  few  men  can  be  trusted  ;  his 
capacity  for  such  mediation  was  almost  unique. 
Speaking  generally,  the  plane  of  the  Church's 
action  is  one,  by  no  means  apart  from,  yet  not 
to  be  confused  with,  particular  causes.  It  can 
most  influence  when  it  speaks  its  own  message, 
and  connects  the  facts  and  the  developments  of 
human  life  with  that  message ;  when,  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  takes  of  the  things 
of  Christ  and  shows  them  in  their  relation  to 
present  -  day  experiences  and  demands.  The 
fellowship  for  which  it  witnesses  is  the  completing 
truth  of  all  social  aspiration  and  effort.  In  the 
latest  work  of  the  saintly  bishop,  to  whom  allu- 
sion has  just  been  made,  are  words  which  inter- 
pret   both    the    mission    and    the    want    of    the 


The  World-wide  Fellowship  of  Men.     283 

Church:  *' In  the  half -blind  strivings  towards 
a  larger  human  communion  we  find,  I  believe,  an 
expression  of  the  characteristic  want  of  our  times, 
the  want  which  Christ  is  waiting  to  satisfy.  We 
need  the  outflow  of  a  spiritual  force  among  us 
which  shall  bring  the  deep  conviction  of  the 
reality  of  this  world-wide  fellowship  of  men.  We 
need  it  in  our  personal  life,  in  our  national  life, 
in  our  religious  life."  ^ 

^  Lessons  from  Work,  p.  103. 


284 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

SOCIAL-ETHICAL   TRENDS. 

Under  the  term  socialism  have  been  compre- 
hended various  schemes  which,  though  differing 
in  points  of  greater  or  less  importance,  take  a 
common  view  of  the  claims  of  industrial  labour, 
of  the  method  by  which  equalisations  of  condition 
and  opportunity  are  to  be  realised,  and  of  the 
readjustment  of  society  to  be  effected  through 
the  corporate  action  of  the  State.  But,  as  has 
already  been  remarked,  many  who  cannot  accept 
either  all  the  principles  on  which  these  systems 
are  built  up,  or  all  the  conclusions  to  which  they 
lead,  are  yet  in  sympathy  with  some  of  the  ideas 
that  pervade  them,  and  it  is  proposed,  in  this 
chapter,  to  consider  certain  social-ethical  trends, 
in  which  this  sympathy  is  expressed. 

In  using  the  phrase  social -ethical,  the  limita- 
tions of  our  survey  will  be  recognised.  It  is  not 
the  intention  to  treat  of  ethics  as  involving  the 


The  Dignity  of  Labour.  285 

laws  of  personal  conduct.  These,  of  course,  can- 
not be  set  aside,  inasmuch  as  what  is  true  or  right, 
false  or  wrong,  as  to  the  aggregate  must  corre- 
spond to  what  is  true  or  right,  false  or  wrong,  as  to 
the  individuals  who  form  the  aggregate.  But  the 
intention  is  to  regard  the  crystalline  in  its  whole- 
ness, not  to  analyse  the  separate  rays  in  their 
separateness.  In  every  age,  there  must  be  modi- 
fications and  elasticities  in  the  application  of 
principles  to  existing  facts  :  as  in  Lowell's  words — 

"  New  occasions  teach  new  duties, 
Time  makes  ancient  good  uncouth." 

Every  community,  moreover,  has  what  may  be 
called  a  special  moral  judgment,  a  judgment 
that  represents  the  sum  of  the  special  influ- 
ences acting  on  it  and  through  it.  Two  or 
three  of  such  influences  let  us  review. 

One  of  the  inclinations  of  thought  which,  in  this 
day,  connect  with  social  ethics  is,  the  assertion 
that  work,  with  a  moral  end  in  view,  is  the  mark 
of  human  worth  and  dignity.  It  is  true  that  this 
is  a  very  old  assertion.  But,  in  our  time,  it  has 
been  presented  with  a  new  emphasis.  Ruskin,  in 
his  *  Crown  of  Wild  Olive,'  distinguishes  between 
work  and  play.  Both  mean  action  ;  but  the  con- 
trast that  he  states  is,  "  Play  is  an  exertion  of 


2  86  Present- Day  Problems, 

body  or  mind  made  to  please  ourselves,  and  with 
no  determined  end."  And,  somewhat  fancifully, 
he  groups  together  money -making,  horse -racing 
and  betting,  ladies'  dressing,  and  war,  as  "  the 
games  which  the  playing  class  in  England  spend 
their  time  in  playing  at."  In  opposition  to  all 
this  he  sets  the  work  with  hand  or  brain,  or  both, 
which  fulfils  three  tests — viz.,  that  it  be  honest, 
that  it  be  useful,  and  that  it  be  cheerful.^  Now, 
the  contention  that  the  olive  crown  is  the  wreath 
of  all  who  thus  work,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest,  that  such  work  is  the  one  and  only  sign 
of  worthy  living,  is  a  feature  of  the  most  in- 
fluential literature  of  our  country,  and  indeed  of 
the  civilised  world.  No  more  fervent  prophet  of 
the  gospel  of  work  has  spoken  to  his  generation 
than  Thomas  Carlyle.  We  are  now  so  familiar 
with  his  utterances,  his  writings  have  so  moulded 
the  feeling  of  men,  that  we  are  apt  to  forget  how 
mighty  was  the  impulse  which  he  gave,  and  even 
to  speak  lightly  of  him.  But  there  are  not  a  few 
who  can  recall  the  mental  and  moral  incitements 
realised  through  the  perusal  of  his  '  Sartor  Re- 
sartus,'  his  '  Past  and  Present,'  his  '  Lectures  on 
Heroes,'  his  '  Latter-day  Pamphlets,' — how  they 
were  wont  to  repeat  to  themselves  his  hot,  crisp 
sentences :    *'  Not  what    I    have   but  what  I   do, 

^  Crown  of  Wild  Olive,  chap.  i. 


Carlyle  and  Work.  287 

is  my  kingdom."^  ''That  impossible  receipt, 
Know  thyself,  let  it  be  translated  into  this  partially 
possible  one.  Know  what  thou  canst  work  at." " 
"  Be  no  longer  a  chaos  but  a  world,  or  even  a 
world-kin.  Produce ;  produce.  Were  it  but  the 
pitifullest  infinitesimal  fraction  of  a  product,  pro- 
duce it  in  God's  name."  ^  "The  situation  which 
has  not  its  duty,  its  ideal,  was  never  yet  occupied 
by  man.  Work  the  ideal  out  from  the  actual, 
and  working,  believe,  live,  and  be  free."  ^ 

This  reiteration  supplied  the  right  tonic  for  an 
age  of  prodigious  activity.  The  right  tonic ;  for, 
in  contradistinction  to  effort  for  mere  material 
and  selfish  advantage,  it  associated  work  with  an 
ideal,  it  maintained  that  the  only  action  which 
can  win  the  olive  crown  is  that  whereby  the 
actual  is  the  translation  of  the  ideal  into  deed. 
The  range  of  vision  was  wider  than  that  of 
the  socialist.  It  did  not  make  manual  labour 
the  standard  for  all  labour.  Carlyle  recognises 
two  men,  and  no  third, — the  one  who  toils  by  the 
hand,  and,  by  his  toil,  secures  the  goods  and  good 
of  the  earth ;  and  the  other  (but  to  him  he  gives 
the  higher  place),  the  one  who  labours  for  the 
bread  of  life,  for  all  that  nourishes  the  higher  life 
of  the  soul.     And  in  this  a  distinct  ethical  note 

^  Sartor  Resartus,  chap.  iv.  p.  83.  -  Ibid.,  chap.  vii.  p.  114. 

3  Ibid.,  chap.  vii.  p.  136.  *  Ibid.,  chap.  vii.  p.  135. 


2  88  Present- Day  P7'oblerns. 

is  sounded,  whose  vibrations  are  felt  everywhere. 
Formerly,  the  only  exertion  which  society  would 
allow  to  the  scions  of  the  upper  classes  was  in  the 
direction  of  Ruskin's  "play."  Now,  we  behold 
them  aspiring  after  useful  service  of  many  kinds. 
Even  in  the  "  game  of  war,"  we  have  beheld  the 
sons  of  the  gentry  enlisting  as  privates  in  yeo- 
manry corps  and  in  other  regiments,  so  as,  in 
the  hour  of  need,  to  serve  their  country.  The 
emancipation  of  women  from  conditions  that  re- 
strained their  energy,  that  doomed  multitudes  to 
inane  existence,  "  pecking  about  like  birds  after 
what  pleased  them,"  was  a  consequence  of  this 
magnifying  of  strenuous  useful  work.  Now, 
women  of  all  degrees  recognise  that  there  are 
careers  of  usefulness  open  to  them,  that  they 
can  be  helps  to  society  otherwise  than  through 
marriage,  and  helps  to  themselves  in  developing 
the  capacities  with  which  they  are  endowed. 
A  new  social  bond  of  cohesion  has  thus  been 
formed  between  the  various  sections  of  the  com- 
munity, and  a  new  ethical  ambition,  purifying 
all  life,  has  thus  been  stimulated. 

The  prominence  that  is  given  to  the  ethics  of 
wealth  marks  another  trend  of  thought  in  our  day 
— a  trend  that  finds  the  age  in  one  of  its  most 
noticeable  features,  and  one  of  its  chief  worships.. 


Commercial  Immoralities.  289 

Poverty  is  not  the  only  problem  to  be  pondered 
by  those  who  aim  at  social  wellbeing.  The 
enormous  wealth,  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter, 
is  also  and  equally  a  problem  ;  and  in  connexion 
with  it  the  questions  arise,  How  is  the  wealth 
made  ?  How  is  it  used  ?  How  is  it  distributed  ? 
The  Christian  Church  has  surely  its  mission  and 
its  message  to  the  rich  as  well  as  to  the  poor, 
and  it  must  take  care  that  this  mission  and  this 
message  are  not  overlooked. 

There  are  prevalent  conditions  of  commercial 
life  which  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  with  a 
high  standard  of  morals.  Tricks  abound  in  every 
trade ;  but,  with  many,  trade  is  a  continual  trick- 
ery. Business  transactions  have  no  substance 
behind  them  ;  commodities  are  bought  and  sold 
before  they  are  in  the  market,  or  without  their 
being  in  the  market  at  all.  Accommodations  of 
many  kinds  make  business  an  endless  and  weary 
financing.  The  spirit  of  speculation  infects  all 
classes  and  grades,  from  the  plutocrat  to  the 
message-boy ;  with  what  consequences  there  is 
no  need  to  specify.  The  haste  to  be  rich,  the 
need  to  provide  for  wants  that  are  created  by 
the  ambition  to  live  in  stylish  ways,  is  a  con- 
stant temptation  to  invest  in  risky  concerns, 
to  clutch  at  possibilities  of  gain,  which  are  also 
possibilities    of   loss    that    cannot    be    met.     And 

T 


290  Present- Day  Problems. 

even  when  methods  of  action  are  legitimate,  avar- 
ice— the  craving  for  more  and  ever  more — im- 
molates at  its  altars  the  energy,  the  strength,  the 
interest  of  manhood  ;  in  the  desire  to  accumulate, 
nobler  and  worthier  desires  are  sacrificed,  and 
the  man  becomes  a  servant  of  mammon.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  keep  the  conscience  in  living  cor- 
respondence with  a  high  ideal,  to  keep  the  hands 
clean  and  the  heart  pure,  in  the  scramble  for 
money  that  everywhere  confronts  us,  and  amid 
the  competitions  that  become  every  year  more 
pressing.  The  Christian  merchant  is  not  an 
unknown  person — on  the  contrary,  he  is  to  be 
often  met ;  but  sometimes  it  is  scarcely  possible 
to  harmonise  transactions  with  the  law  of  Christ. 
Assuming  wealth  to  be  honestly  gotten,  the  vital 
issue  is.  How  is  it  to  be  used ;  what  are  the  prin- 
ciples which  should  guide  those  who  have  the 
larger  shares  of  this  world's  goods  ?  This  is  an 
issue  that  requires  to  be  fairly  considered.  We 
cannot  lay  down  hard  and  fast  rules.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  differences  in  social  position,  in 
taste,  and  in  temperament,  imply  differences  in 
the  expenditure  by  which  a  man  receives  the  good 
of  his  labour.  Wealth,  too,  has  an  office  to  dis- 
charge in  the  promotion  of  art,  of  the  higher 
forms  of  culture,  of  the  more  refined  aspects  of 
social  life.      Increases  of  comfort  are  inevitable. 


Waste  of  Wealth.  291 

But,  when  this  is  said,  the  line  must  be  drawn 
between  elegance  and  mere  luxury.  Consumption 
of  means,  parade  of  means,  in  extravagant  fashion 
— in  ways  that  are  quite  beyond  all  that  really 
beautifies  and  enriches  existence — is  to  be  utterly 
condemned.  The  wealthiest,  no  less  than  the 
poorest,  stand  before  a  white  throne,  and  the 
books  of  the  life  are  opened,  and  judgment  is 
made  out  of  the  books.  And  if,  as  thus  judged, 
excesses,  ministering  only  to  ostentation,  to  vain- 
glory, to  an  enervating  softness,  to  heartless  self- 
ish enjoyment,  are  proved,  the  sentence.  Guilty, 
is  swift  and  sure.     The  waste  of  wealth  is  sin. 

That  the  possessor  of  wealth  is  responsible  to 
God  and  to  society  for  its  administration  is  a 
conviction  which  every  year  is  becoming  more 
intense.  In  the  tone  of  those  organs  of  public 
opinion  that  reflect  the  best  feeling  of  the 
country,  we  can  observe  a  growing  impatience 
of  the  dissipation  of  fortunes  on  frivolities,  and 
the  reckless  squandering  of  means  on  betting  and 
gambhng.  For  the  gratification  of  aesthetic  taste, 
and  for  all  that  healthily  ministers  to  refinement, 
liberal  margins  are  allowed.  None  will  object 
to  such  a  provision  for  families  as  shall  secure  a 
vantage-ground  for  the  exercise  of  their  aptitudes, 
without  bringing  on  them  the  curse  of  idleness, 
or  leading  them  into  the  temptations  which  the 


292  Present' Day  Problems, 

want  of  stimulus  to  action  causes.     But,  in  re- 
spect of  all  beyond  this,  it  is  more  and  more  de- 
manded that  a  man   should  regard  himself,  not 
as  the  absolute  and  irresponsible  proprietor,  but 
as   the  trustee,  for  behoof  of  his  world,  of  the 
riches  he  has  inherited   or  acquired — that  these 
riches  should  be  held   as  an   estate  with  whose 
administration  he   is    charged.      Wealth  has  its 
obligation    and   its   privilege.     It    is    a    privilege 
to    have    an  abundance   to    give,  to   be   able   to 
originate  or  to  direct  causes  that  benefit  man- 
kind, to  identify  personal  joy  with  the  welfare 
of  others.     It  is  an  obligation  to  study  the  best 
ways  and  methods  of  doing  this.     Indiscriminate 
and  injudicious  benevolence  demoralises  society, 
and  works  ill  to  one's  neighbour.     He  who  would 
really  benefit  must  wisely  consider  and  act.     It  is 
a  poor  evasion  alike  of  privilege  and  of  obligation 
to  hoard  money  during  the  Hfetime,  and   leave 
it  to  charities  in  a  last  will  and  testament :    to 
keep  it  so  long  as  it  can  minister  to  the  mere 
pride   of  life,    and   to   give    directions    as   to    its 
application  after  the  owner's  death.     The  death- 
duties  rightly  snatch  a  portion  for  the  good  of 
the   nation ;    the  moral  which  they  point  being 
that  men  should  be  their  own  executors,  utiHsing 
the  surplus  which   they  have,  in  the  conscious- 
ness   of    a    stewardship    that    they    cannot    re- 


Responsibility  for  Wealth.  293 

nounce,  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 
their  fellows. 

An  object-lesson  on  the  duty  of  the  wealthy 
has  been  given  by  Mr  Carnegie,  the  well-known 
millionaire  of  Pittsburg.  In  his  '  Gospel  of 
Wealth '  he  thus  states  the  responsibility  of  the 
man  of  wealth  :  "To  set  an  example  of  modest, 
unostentatious  living,  shunning  display  or  ex- 
travagance ;  to  provide  moderately  for  the  legit- 
imate wants  of  those  dependent  upon  him ;  and, 
after  doing  so,  to  consider  all  surplus  revenues 
which  come  to  him  simply  as  trust-funds  which 
he  is  called  upon  to  administer,  and  strictly  bound 
as  a  matter  of  duty  to  administer,  in  the  manner 
which  in  his  judgment  is  best  calculated  to  pro- 
duce the  most  beneficial  results  for  the  com- 
munity; the  man  of  wealth  thus  becoming  the 
mere  trustee  and  agent  for  his  poorer  brethren, 
bringing  to  their  service  his  superior  wisdom, 
experience,  and  ability  to  administer,  doing  for 
them  better  than  they  would  or  could  do  for 
themselves."^  These  are  words  that  express  a 
high  ethical  ideal  —  words  that  the  Christian 
Church,  in  the  light  of  its  great  Exemplar, 
should  ''teach  and  exhort." 

But  another  view  of  wealth  has  been  presented, 
which  must  not  be  omitted  from  our  survey. 

1  The  Gospel  of  Weallh,  p.  15. 


294  Present- Day  Problems. 

Ruskin,  often  in  eccentric  fashion  and  with  un- 
necessary exaggerations,  set  himself  to  the  task  of 
combating  apprehensions  which  he  held  to  be 
promotive  of  a  base  prostration  before  the  golden 
image  of  Dura.  He  attacked  political  econo- 
mists as  blameworthy,  in  so  far  as  they  narrowed 
the  scope  of  a  science  that  is  especially  needful 
for  the  nation  to  mere  money-making,  and  as 
they  ignored  the  first  and  the  essential  condition 
of  the  wealth  of  a  people  and  of  individuals.  He 
distinguished  between  wealth,  money,  and  riches. 
Wealth,  he  urged,  consists  in  things  essentially 
valuable ;  money  consists  in  things  of  currency 
and  exchange  ;  riches  include  the  relations  of  men 
to  each  other,  and  the  just  laws  of  their  associa- 
tion for  purposes  of  labour.^  With  all  his  might 
he  affirmed  that  in  wealth,  properly  so  called, 
there  are  two  elements  of  value — the  intrinsic , 
denoting  all  that  contributes  to  life  or  has  the 
power  of  supporting  life,  and  is  thus  essentially 
useful ;  and  the  effectual,  denoting  the  capacity  in 
the  person  to  accept  and  realise  the  use,  and  thus 
have  the  life  which  is  ministered  to.  Wanting 
either  of  these,  nothing,  he  maintained,  could  be 
an  occasion  of  wealth  ;  having  both  of  these,  there 
is  wealth — that  is,  life  and  life  abundant. 

Here,  then,  is  a  great  ethical  inspiration — the 

^  Munera  Pulveris,  chap.  i.  pp.  lo,  ii. 


Life  is  Wealth.  295 

inspiration  long  ago  breathed  into  the  nostrils  of 
humanity  by  Him  who  knew  what  is  in  man. 
But  it  is  uttered  in  a  new  form.  The  point  to  be 
grasped  is,  that  the  first  requirement  in  order  to 
wealth  is  that  there  be  that  which  in  itself  and  for 
itself  is  everlastingly  worthy,  and  that  there  be 
the  power  to  possess  this  and  turn  it  to  its  full 
account.  A  millionaire  may  have  money  in  heaps. 
If  he  utilise  that  money  for  the  securing  of  noble 
objects,  and  if  he  be  himself  a  noble  man,  the 
money,  by  that  which  it  commands,  lifts  him  into 
the  region  of  wealth.  If  he  hoard  as  a  miser,  the 
love  of  the  money  eating  into  his  soul ;  or  if  he 
spend  it  on  things  and  in  ways  that  are  ignoble, 
if  not  wrong;  if  he  be  himself  a  mean,  small- 
minded,  and  narrow-souled  man  ;  to  him  it  may 
be  said,  "Thy  money  perish  with  thee;  it  is  not 
wealth,  it  is  but  a  pile  piled  on  a  moral  carcass." 
This  teaching  may  seem  hazy.  Many  whom 
it  reached  shrugged  their  shoulders  and  pro- 
nounced Ruskin  a  dreamer.  It  was  so  unpopular 
that  the  editors  of  magazines  in  which  he  ex- 
pounded it  were  obliged  to  discontinue  the  publi- 
cation of  articles  relating  to  it.  Scientifically,  it 
may  be  at  fault.  But,  nevertheless,  there  is  in 
it  a  conception  which  has  laid  hold  of  minds — 
such  as  Arnold  Toynbee  and  Patrick  Geddes — 
that  have  influenced  their  generation,  and  through 


296  Present- Day  Problems. 

them,  slowly  perhaps  but  surely,  it  has  become  a 
part  of  the  experience  of  the  time.  Even  where 
the  view  of  wealth  as  life  which  it  expresses  is 
not  fully  received,  it  is  operative.  A  more  dis- 
tinctly ethical  element  has  been  infused  into 
political  science,  and  additional  momentum  has 
been  given  to  altruistic  feeling  and  service. 

This  altruistic  feeling,  this  humanitarian  trend, 
is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  features  in  the 
social  ethics  of  the  present  day. 

Altruism  has  been  exalted  into  a  worship.  The 
most  explicit  form  of  the  worship  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Positivism  propounded  by  M.  Auguste  Comte. 
In  the  earlier  period  of  his  career,  Comte  sneered 
at  ''religiosity  as  a  mere  weakness  and  avowal 
of  want  of  power."  But,  in  the  later  period,  he 
discovered  that  religiosity  cannot  be  dismissed 
with  a  sneer,  and  he  elaborated  a  travesty  of 
Roman  Catholicism  which  he  intended  to  be 
the  glorifying  of  humanity,  to  be  an  education 
in  the  love  of  humanity,  to  be  the  expression  of 
the  only  true  morality — that  in  which  the  pro- 
gress of  the  race  is  made  the  one  end  and  the 
only  good  of  life.  Comtism  as  a  system  has 
waned.  It  is  a  house  divided  against  itself,  split 
into  sections  that  are  bitterly  hostile  to  each 
other.     And,  in  the  circles  to  which  it  appealed 


Altruism.  297 

most  powerfully,  the  more  explicit  socialisms  of  the 
Continent  and  of  Great  Britain  have  supplanted  it. 
But   the  essence  of  the  system    pervades   the 
thought  of  the  time.     It  is  ''  the  only  philosophy 
that  is  a  really  new  agent  in  progress."^     Christ- 
ianity is  humanitarian.      But  the  new  agent,  as 
interpreted    by   its    more    prominent    advocates, 
diverges  from  Christianity  when  it  separates  the 
love  of  the   neighbour  from  the  first  command- 
ment, to  which,  in  Christ's  teaching,  it  is  like — 
the  commandment   "to  love    God   with    all   the 
heart,  and  with  all  the  soul,    and   with   all   the 
might"  —  and    when    it    eliminates    the    central 
motive-power,  the  love  of  man  for  Christ's  sake 
and  in  Christ's  love.    Altruism,  in  magnifying  the 
love  of  one's  neighbour,  opposes  that  to  the  love 
of  self.     The  love  of  self  is  to  be  lost.     The  New 
Testament   recognises  a  legitimate  self-love,   not 
to  be  lost,  but  to  be  the  measure  of  the  love  of 
one's  neighbour.     Altruism  has  its  religion  in  it- 
self.   The  synthesis  which  it  desires  is  one  that 
explains  man  and  his  universe  only  from    man's 
point  of  view.     George  Eliot,  in  whose  writings 
this  humanitarianism  is  skilfully  presented,  '*  takes 
religious   patriotism  for  the  subject    of  her   last 
novel,^  but  is  at  some  pains  to  show  that  her  hero 

1  Mallock,  '  Is  Life  worth  living?'  chap.  i. 

2  Daniel  Deronda. 


298  Present- Day  Problems. 

may  be  religious  without  any  belief  in  God,  and 
patriotic  without  any  but  an  ideal  country."  ^ 

There  is  a  humanitarianism  which  has  a 
religious  hue,  but  this  kind  sometimes  assumes 
an  eccentric  character.  The  Tolstoyism  that 
has  developed  in  Russia  is  an  illustration  which 
presents  many  points  of  interest. 

Count  Leo  Tolstoy,  a  noble  of  ancient  line- 
age, under  the  power  of  altruistic  convictions, 
renounced  his  position  with  all  its  privileges, 
and  chose  to  live  as  a  labourer  among  labourers. 
The  history  of  his  inner  life  gives  a  special  char- 
acter to  his  self-renunciation.  In  1845,  when 
he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  discarded  all 
religion.  His  moral  attitude  then  and  for  many 
years  thereafter,  and  the  genesis  of  the  new  faith 
by  which  he  was  quickened,  are  outlined  in  one 
of  the  principal  persons  in  his  painfully  realistic 
novel,  '  Anna  Karenina.'  Levin  (so  far  a  por- 
trait of  himself)  became  obstinately  sceptical  as 
to  all  the  beliefs  in  which  he  had  been  reared. 
From  the  age  of  twenty  to  thirty -four,  "our 
organism  and  its  destruction,  the  indestruct- 
ibility of  matter,  the  laws  of  the  conservation 
and  development  of  forces,  were  words  which 
were    substituted    for    the    terms    of    his    early 

^  Quoted  in  '  Life,  is  it  worth  living  ? '  by  the  present  writer, 
p.  64. 


Count  Tolstoy.  299 

taith."  ^  Then  came  the  shock  caused  by  his 
brother's  death.  He  reahsed  that  these  terms 
''  stood  for  nothing  in  the  face  of  real  hfe." 
The  problem  of  his  existence — the  problems  of 
existence  —  haunted  and  tormented  him;  and, 
scrutinising  ''  the  whole  arsenal  of  his  scientific 
convictions,  he  could  find  no  answer  whatever 
to  his  questions."  The  more  he  puzzled,  the 
greater  was  his  despair.  Tortured  by  his  ignor- 
ance, listless  as  to  "anything  that  was  good  and 
useful  for  all,  for  humanity,"  he  left  his  barn 
one  day,  after  a  period  of  toil,  along  with  a 
humble  machine-tender.  In  the  course  of  their 
talk,  the  names  of  two  men  were  mentioned, 
and  the  muzhik  said  :  ''  '  Men  differ.  One  lives 
for  his  belly,  like  Mitiukh  '  (one  of  the  two), 
*  but  Fokanuitch '  (the  other)  *  is  an  honest 
man ;  he  lives  for  his  soul,  he  remembers  God.' 
'  What  do  you  call  living  for  the  soul  and  re- 
membering God  ?  '  exclaimed  Levin  eagerly. 
'  Why,  that's  plain  enough,'  was  the  rejoinder. 
'  It  is  to  live  according  to  God,  according  to 
truth.'  The  simple  words  echoed  through  the 
heart,  and  weighty  thoughts,  as  from  a  hidden 
source,  arose,  filling  him  with  their  brilliant 
light."  2  ''Reason,"  he  said  to  himself,  ''has 
nothing  to  do  with  loving  the  neighbour."      He 

1  Anna  Karenina,  p.  741.  ^  Ibid.,  pp.  748,  749. 


300  Present- Day  Proble^ns. 

could  not  accept  all  the  teaching  of  the  Church, 
but  he  could  live  that  life  of  the  soul  which 
alone  is  worth  living  for ;  and  henceforth  life 
would  be,  *'not  meaningless  as  before,  but  full 
of  a  deep  meaning  which  he  would  have  power 
to  impress  on  every  action." 

This  is  the  picture  of  Tolstoy  (and,  more  or 
less,  it  is  the  picture  of  many  persons  in  the 
present  day).  Impatient  of  creeds,  of  councils, 
of  fathers,  of  St  Paul  himself,  the  one  point  is 
"  access  to  the  spirit  of  life  through  Jesus." 
Tolstoy's  doctrine,  such  as  it  is,  is  extracted 
from  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  He  compre- 
hended his  doctrine  in  five  great  commandments 
of  peace — commandments  which  are  the  articles 
of  universal  brotherhood.  What  his  religious 
position  to-day  is,  it  may  be  difficult  to  deter- 
mine. The  orthodox  Greek  Church  has  excom- 
municated him  ;  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  still 
clings  to  "  Christ's  Christianity."  But  he  has 
his  followers  who,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  have 
not  observed  the  limits  of  the  master.  He  has 
lived  with  his  wife  and  children.  They  have 
become  a  colony,  almost  monastic  without  a 
monastery, — *'  ranging  from  nobles  and  million- 
aires to  tramps  and  peasants,  and  possessing 
not  even  coat  and  spade,  but  happy,  contented. 


The  Ethics  of  the  Day.  301 

serene,  overflowing  with  hard  work  and  brotherly 
kindness."  1 

All  this  is  suggestive  of  features  reproduced, 
with  variations,  in  many  lands.  It  represents 
(or  misrepresents  ?)  humanitarianism  in  its  more 
emotional  and  mystical  aspects.  Humanitarian- 
ism has  other  aspects — the  scientific,  the  politi- 
cal, the  evangelistic,  the  practically  philanthropic. 
But  that  now  specified  is,  perhaps,  the  most  inter- 
esting of  all.  In  one  form  or  another — Christ- 
ian, non- Christian,  anti- Christian — the  ethic  of 
the  day  is  humanitarian.  And  the  world  insists, 
as  Christianity  does,  on  the  altruism  of  deed, 
not  mere  word.  It  is  intolerant  of  the  arm- 
chair men,  who 

"  Debate  the  evil  of  the  world 
As  though  they  bore  no  portion  of  that  ill, 
As  though  with  subtle  phrases  they  could  spin 
A  woof  to  screen  us  from  life's  undelight ; 
Sometimes  prolonging  far  into  the  night 
Such  talk,  as  loth  to  separate  and  find 
Each  in  his  solitude  how  vain  are  words 
When  that  which  is  opposed  to  them  is  more."  ^ 

Such,  then,  are  some  of  the  more  conspicuous 
ethical  trends  of  our  day.  Their  influence  is 
apparent    in    its    politics.       It    is    impossible    to 

'  'Edinburgh  Review,' July  1901. 

'^  Quoted  by  Canon  Gore,  Banipton  Lecture,  p.  201. 


302  Present- Day  Problems. 

separate  the  political  from  the  ethical.  They 
are  necessary  each  to  the  other,  if,  indeed,  the  one 
is  not  a  part  of  the  other.^  Though,  in  respect 
of  method  and,  so  far,  of  motive,  they  are  apart, 
they  have  the  same  end  in  view,  the  same  back- 
ground and  the  same  foreground.  ''On  the  one 
hand,"  writes  Professor  Sidgwick,  "  the  duty  or 
virtue  of  any  individual  is  held  to  consist  essen- 
tially in  the  performance  of  his  functions  as  a 
member  of  a  social  organism,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  realise  or  effectually  promote  the  wellbeing 
of  the  whole  organism,  whilst  on  the  other  hand 
a  certain  kind  of  political  order  is  generally  held 
to  be  an  indispensable  condition  or  constituent  of 
such  wellbeing."  ^  Now,  we  can  trace  the  main 
currents  of  social  ethics  in  the  ampler  per- 
spectives of  legislation,  witnessing  to  the  change 
which  has  passed  over  the  conception  of  the 
State  and  of  the  powers  and  province  of  govern- 
ment. And  in  these  perspectives,  in  this  change 
— in  the  lines  of  advance  which  are  thus  indi- 
cated— many  will  recognise  the  pathway  of  such 
a  harmonious  development  of  national  life,  such 
a  consistency  in  the  growing  sway  of  beauteous 
order  with  the  growths  in  the  life  of  man,  as 
shall  secure  a  real  counteractive  to  the  wild  and 

^  Aristotle  maintained  that  it  was. 

2  Sidgwick's  Methods  of  Ethics,  p.  20. 


Ethics  and  Civilisation.  303 

irrational  types  of  socialism  which  denounce  all 
private  property  as  immoral,  and  in  whose  ex- 
treme left  we  discern  the  gunpowder  and  the 
dynamite  of  the  anarchist. 

But,  irrespective  of  all  direct  political  reference, 
the  dominating  subject  of  interest  to  the  Church 
is  the  moral  or  ethical  life  of  the  people.  It 
is  sometimes  affirmed  that  an  ethical  standard  is 
involved  in  the  civilisation  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury. To  a  certain  extent  this  is  true.  But 
Mr  Mackenzie  justly  reminds  us  that  "  civilisa- 
tion, as  it  actually  exists,  is  partly  a  product  of 
the  vices  as  well  as  of  the  virtues  of  mankind, 
and  is  adapted  to  the  former  as  well  as  to  the 
latter.  It  is  not  arranged  for  the  extinction 
of  vice,  but  at  most,  in  Burke's  language,  '  that 
vice  may  lose  half  its  evil  by  losing  half  its  gross- 
ness.  It  is  arranged  not  for  the  promotion  of 
virtue  but  only  of  respectability.'  "  ^  If,  therefore, 
rank  growths  of  evil  no  less  than  good  may  be 
expected  as  the  product  of  civilisation,  the  in- 
quiry remains,  What  is  the  vitality  of  the  force 
that  is  working,  as  from  an  inner  moral  centre, 
through  our  civilisation  ? 

The  signs  are  mixed.  Looking  up  and  down, 
out  and  about,  on  the  hollowness  of  much  of  the 
religious  profession  of  the  day ;  on  the  absence  of 

1  Manual  of  Ethics,  p.  391. 


304  Present- Day  Problems. 

lofty  motive  in  the  conduct  of  man  to  man  and 
man  to  woman  ;  on  the  selfishness  in  compe- 
titions and  rivalries,  by  which  the  strong  push 
the  weak  out  of  the  running  and  leave  the  less  fit 
hopeless  and  forlorn ;  on  the  immoralities  in 
trade,  the  more  than  questionable  practices  in 
vogue  in  commercial  circles ;  on  the  heartless 
frivolity,  ostentation,  luxury,  and  looseness  of 
large  areas  of  fashionable  life,  and  the  low,  coarse 
animalism  of  thousands  on  thousands  of  the  popu- 
lation,— taking  these  and  many  other  features  into 
account,  a  despondent  feeling  is  apt  to  steal  into 
the  mind.  Who  does  not  often  realise  this  feeling, 
and  with  Tennyson,  in  *'  Locksley  Hall  Sixty 
Years  After,"  has  not  sometimes  been  moved 
to  protest — 

"  When    was   age   so   crammed   with   menace  ?    madness  ? 
written,  spoken,  hes  ? 

Evolution  ever  climbing  after  some  ideal  good, 

And  Reversion  ever  4ragging  Evolution  in  the  mud." 

An  even  more  cynical  note  may  ring  through  the 
protest — such  a  note  as  that  sounded  by  a  biographer 
of  Ibsen  as  an  appropriate  motto  for  him  : — "  Let 
others  complain  of  this  age  as  being  wicked.  I 
complain  of  it  as  being  contemptible  ;  for  it  is 
devoid  of  passion.  Men's  thoughts  are  thin  and 
frail  as  lace ;    they  themselves  are  the  weakling 


Aims  and  Efforts.  305 

lacemakers.     The  thoughts  of  their  hearts  are  too 
paltry  to  be  sinful."  ^ 

But  this  represents  the  mood  of  a  dismal  day 
when  the  sky  is  leaden,  and  the  rain  drips,  and 
there  is  no  tonic  in  the  air ;  the  mood  of  a  moral 
climate  which,  having  lost  the  sunshine  of  faith, 
and  being  laden  with  manifold  unhealthiness, 
depresses  the  system  and  turns  the  light  in  the 
soul  into  darkness.  Against  all  that  is  untoward 
in  the  social  prospect  are  to  be  set  the  tokens, 
neither  few  nor  uncertain,  of  a  purpose,  whose 
momentum  is  ever  increasing,  to  reduce  the  vices 
and  degradations  that  are  casting  dark  shadows 
across  our  civilisation, — a  steadily  progressive 
movement  towards  better  life  -  conditions  and 
averages,  higher  levels  and  nobler  loves  for  the 
individual  units  of  mankind.  Why  is  it  that 
attention  so  concentrates  on  the  plague-spots  in 
all  our  cities  ?  Why  is  it  that  the  best  thought  of 
the  period  is  so  exercised  on  the  question,  What 
is  to  be  done  to  make  life  wealthier  and  worthier, 
and,  What  are  the  most  effective  methods  of  such 
doing  ?  Why  is  it  that  on  all  sides  there  are  or- 
ganised efforts  directed  against  particular  social 
evils  and  iniquities  ?  Why  is  it  that  persons 
of  all  ranks  are  drawn  together,  as  by  an  irre- 
sistible  magnetism,   in    strenuous   endeavours  to 

^  Ibsen  and  Bjornsen,  by  George  Brand,  p.  49. 

y 


3o6  Preseiit-Day  Problems, 

"work  out  the  beast  in  men's  world  "  and  ''let 
the  ape  and  tiger  die  "  ?  In  the  early  part  of  last 
century,  the  state  of  our  country  was  immeasurably 
worse  than  it  is  in  this,  the  dawning  year,  of  the 
new  century.  And  the  men  of  that  time  slum- 
bered and  slept.  There  has  been  a  great  awaken- 
ment  of  conscience.  The  moral  ideal,  as  has  been 
shown,  is  higher.  The  chasm  between  the  ideal 
and  the  actual  is  more  vividly  perceived,  and  for 
the  width  of  this  chasm  society  is  arraigning  itself 
as  verily  guilty.  Government  is  active.  Munici- 
palities are  active.  Science  and  art  are  active. 
The  demand  is  for  more  and  better  education; 
and  education  is  being  made  ever  more  compre- 
hensive in  its  survey,  and  more  ethical  in  its 
spirit  and  aim.  Houses  are  improving.  Healthier 
recreations  are  provided.  The  reverence  for  the 
person  of  woman  or  man  which  Milton  commends 
is  more  strenuously  inculcated,  and  many  en- 
deavours are  made  to  elevate  and  purify  tastes 
and  habits.  All  forces,  intellectual,  social,  and 
religious,  are  in  full  operation — the  voice  sound- 
ing through  all  as  the  sound  of  many  waters 
being,  "  In  God's  name,  let  men  be  free  in  the 
freedom  of  the  truth."  This  awakenment,  this 
consensus  of  aims,  this  determination  of  will,  is 
in  itself  the  most  hopeful  of  features,  the  most 
convincing  of  the  signs  of  a  stronger  ethical  life. 


The  New  Age.  307 

It  bids  us  be  of  good  cheer.  It  reminds  us  that, 
through  all  the  groans  and  travail  of  our  time, 
the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God  is  being 
hastened.     As  William  Watson  has  sung,— 

"  The  new  age  stands  as  yet 
Half  built  against  the  sky, 
Opeji  to  every  threat 

Of  storms  that  clamour  by  ; 
Scaffolding  veils  the  walls 
And  dim  dust  floats  and  falls, 
As  moving  to  and  fro  their  tasks  the  masons  ply." 


3o8 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE    SOCIAL   WORK   OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE 
PRESENT    DAY. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  problems  of  modern 
society  relating  to  the  conditions  under  which 
vast  multitudes  live  and  move  and  have  their  being 
bristle  with  difficulties  whose  solution  marks  the 
strenuous  endeavour  of  thoughtful  and  earnest 
men.  We  have  considered  a  class  of  theories 
which,  however  they  may  differ  in  detail,  agree 
in  the  demand  that  the  State  shall  be  transformed, 
and  that  the  present  social  system  shall  be  revolu- 
tionised ;  and  the  consideration  has  indicated  a 
fatal  unsoundness  in  their  economic  positions, 
and  sometimes  a  fatal  deficiency  in  moral  tone. 
In  the  previous  chapter,  certain  social -ethical 
trends  were  regarded  ;  but  of  them  it  must  be 
said  that,  whilst  they  are  interesting  and  signi- 
ficant as  exhibitive  of  the  tendencies  of  in- 
fluential convictions,  their  effectiveness   depends 


The  Witness  of  the  Chitrch.  309 

on  the  hold  that  Christian  ethics,  in  its  springs, 
principles,  and  laws,  has  of  the  social  conscience. 
The  conclusion  at  which  we  arrive  is,  that  the 
virtue  by  which  the  wounds  and  bruises  of 
humanity  can  be  healed  is  not  contained  in 
any  special  philosophy  or  economy :  that  may  do 
much  ;  but,  in  order  to  the  stanching  of  the  issue, 
there  must  be  internal  rectifications  as  well  as 
external  readjustments  —  improved  environment, 
but  also  regenerated  life.  This  is  the  witness 
which  the  Christian  Church  is  called  to  bear ; 
and  in  accordance  with  the  witness  is  its  action 
to  be  shaped.  It  has  a  temporal,  but  it  has  first 
a  spiritual,  mission.  And  the  inquiry  with  which 
we  are  now  concerned  is.  How  far  is  it  fulfilling 
this  mission,  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual,  in 
the  midst  of  the  clashing  views  and  in  the  face 
of  the  perplexing  circumstances  by  which  it  is 
confronted  ? 

This  inquiry  is  forced  into  prominence  by  the 
attacks  and  insinuations  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made.  Saint  -  Simon  gave  the 
keynote  for  such  attacks  when  he  declared,  as 
against  both  the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Pro- 
testant Churches,  that  "they  had  lost  their  power 
simply  because  they  had  neglected  their  great 
temporal  mission  of  raising  the  poor,  and  because 
their  clergy  remained  absolutely  ignorant  of  the 


310  Present-Day  Problems, 

living  social  questions  of  the  times."  ^  Thus  he 
wrote  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  thus  men  write 
still.     Is  the  accusation  that  they  hurl  justified  ? 

We  do  not  need  to  borrow  the  speech  of  a  false 
humility,  but  neither  have  we  occasion  to  assume 
a  pharisaic  self-complacency.  Many  of  those  who 
condemn  the  Churches  and  the  clergy  are  in  dead 
earnest — men  whose  self-devotion,  intensity,  and 
force  entitle  them  to  respect.  And,  as  was  re- 
marked in  an  earlier  page  of  this  book,  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  men  of  this  stamp,  into 
whose  souls  the  iron  has  entered,  feel  that  there 
is  an  atmosphere  of  unreality  about  much  of  the 
teaching,  much  in  all  that  bulks  most  largely  in 
the  aspect  and  business,  of  the  Church.  But 
when  this  has  been  said — not  for  the  purpose  of 
turning  the  cheek  to  any  smiter,  but  for  the  pur- 
pose of  receiving  that  *'  reproof  of  the  righteous 
which  is  excellent  oil  " — let  us  ask  whether  it 
can  fairly  be  charged  that  '*  the  Church  has 
neglected  its  great  temporal  mission  of  raising 
the  poor " ? 

In  former  chapters  of  this  volume,  it  was  de- 
monstrated that,  notwithstanding  all  its  faults 
and  imperfections,  the  Christian  Church  in  the 
nineteen  centuries  of  its  history  has  penetrated 
into  deeper  places  of  human  life  than  all  political 

^  Contemporary  Socialism,  p.  218. 


The  Clergy  and  Progress.  3 1 1 

forces  have  done ;  that  it  has  been  the  social 
friend,  benefactor,  regenerator,  in  ways  often  un- 
observed, and  through  influences  never  blazoned 
forth  to  public  view.  It  is  affirmed,  indeed,  that 
the  ministers  of  the  Church  have  for  the  most 
part  resisted  improvements  ;  that,  jealous  of 
movements  which  might  impair  ecclesiastical 
authority,  they  have  tenaciously  clung  to  old 
orders  even  when  new  orders  were  displacing 
them ;  and  that  they  have  combined  with  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  in  opposing  enfranchise- 
ments of  the  people.  In  this  assertion,  there 
may  be  some  truth ;  but,  as  an  indictment  against 
a  whole  class,  it  is  not  borne  out  by  facts.  The 
clergy  are  not  usually  men  **  given  to  change"; 
and  it  is  no  disadvantage  to  the  cause  of  pro- 
gress that  there  should  be  an  intelligently  critical 
attitude  towards  new  departures.  The  rationale 
of  these  departures — their  basis,  aims,  and  ad- 
vantages— must  be  made  evident,  in  order  that 
they  may  obtain  the  consent  which  can  render 
them  fully  beneficial.  If  the  wheels  of  the 
chariot  seem  to  tarry,  the  future  advance  is 
only  the  more  fully  assured.  But,  any  person 
who  impartially  studies  the  records  of  the  past 
will  find  that  the  Church  has  been  in  the  front, 
rather  than  in  the  rear,  of  the  march.  Certainly, 
it  has  been  so  in   Scotland.     By  the  plantation 


312  Present-Day  Problems. 

of  kirks,  the  division  of  parishes,  the  building 
of  manses,  centres  of  intellectual  light  and  of 
Christian  sympathy  were  provided  in  every  part 
of  the  land,  from  which  have  issued  agencies 
and  offices  of  beneficence.  The  Church  was, 
for  centuries,  the  national  almoner  to  the  poor. 
It  was  the  Church  that  fostered  education  when 
statesmen  gave  little  heed  to  it ;  by  its  exertions, 
the  parish  school  was  placed  beside  the  parish 
church  ;  any  encouragement  that  was  given  to 
secondary  education  and  to  the  universities  was, 
during  many  generations,  given  by  the  Church. 
Undoubtedly,  dark  shadows  rest  on  ecclesiastical 
activities  in  days  that  are  gone.  The  belief  in 
witchcraft,  and  the  cruelties  perpetrated  by  pres- 
byteries and  presbyters  on  supposed  witches,  are 
frequently  quoted.  The  blemish  is  admitted.  It 
was  a  sign  of  the  semi-barbarous  and  superstitious 
feeling  that  lingered  in  the  country — an  excrescence 
of  fanaticism,  fostered  by  the  isolation  of  Scotland 
from  the  play  of  wider  civilisations,  which  was 
gradually  removed.  The  most  enlightened  church- 
men opposed  it.  But  to  this  blemish  and  to  other 
blemishes,  we  can  oppose  the  many  social  impulses 
that  were  given  by  the  Church.  Agricultural 
advance  was  largely  due  to  the  older  race  of 
parish  ministers  —  that  with  which  the  term 
"  Moderate  "   is  identified.      We   need    not  have 


Social  Sei^vice  of  the  Clergy, 


jM 


any  bias  towards  the  type  of  mind  which  the 
Moderate  represented,  and  yet,  in  justice,  recog- 
nise that,  in  the  words  of  Mr  Grey  Graham, 
"  most  of  the  Hterary  and  cultured  clergy  be- 
longed to  that  class ;  those  of  most  practical 
energy,  shrewdest  to  advance  improvement  in 
trade  and  agriculture,  the  sagacious  advisers  of 
their  flocks  on  week-days,  and  wise  teachers  of 
duties  on  Sunday.  .  .  .  The  encouragement  to 
new  methods  of  industry  often  came  from  those 
shrewd  parish  ministers."^  And,  in  the  more 
modern  time,  when  a  higher  spiritual  tone  was 
evidenced  in  the  Church,  the  furtherance  of 
social  utilities  did  not  abate.  The  founder  of 
savings  banks  in  Scotland  was  an  evangelical 
Dumfriesshire  clergyman.  No  man  of  his  day 
gave  more  heed  to  social  science  and  its  ap- 
plications than  Dr  Chalmers.  The  champion 
of  the  bothy  lads  in  Forfarshire  was  the  Rev. 
Harry  Stuart  of  Oathlaw.  And  who  that  recalls 
the  names  of  Norman  Macleod,  and  Thomas 
Guthrie,  and  William  Robertson  of  Edinburgh; 
the  labours  of  the  General  Assembly's  Commis- 

1  Social  Life  in  Scotland,'  vol.  ii.  p.  96,  note  p.  97.  Sir  Henry 
Craik  ('  A  Century  of  Scottish  History,'  vol.  i.  p.  385)  writes  con- 
cerning the  Moderates :  "  In  the  minds  of  this  dominant  party 
the  Church  was  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  promotion  of  every 
scheme  of  public  improvement,  and  was  to  accept  as  a  Christian 
duty  the  advancement  of  the  material  welfare  of  the  nation." 


3 14  Present-Day  Problems. 

sion  on  the  Religious  Condition  of  the  people, 
with  its  voluminous  reports,  glancing  into  all 
the  scenes  and  circumstances  of  life  in  Scot- 
land ;  the  work  of  the  Commission  of  Glasgow 
Presbytery  on  the  Housing  of  the  Poor ;  the 
expanding  ministries  of  Home  Missions  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  the  United  Free  Church, 
and  other  Churches;  the  unwearied  devotion  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  and  the  toils  of  the 
sisterhoods  and  societies  in  the  Roman  Church ; 
who  that  reviews  the  ecclesiastical  situation 
with  an  open  mind  needs  to  be  told  that  almost 
the  last  thing  which  should  be  charged  against 
Christian  Churches  is  that  they  have  not  dis- 
charged their  *'  temporal  mission  of  raising  the 
poor."  They  may  not  have  been  always  wise  in 
their  methods,  and  the  result  of  all  the  endeavour 
may  not  have  realised  the  full  fruition  of  the 
prayers  and  pains  bestowed ;  but  they  have  ac- 
cepted the  care  of  the  poor,  and  they  have  not 
been  indifferent  to  the  social  wants  and  aspira- 
tions of  their  age. 

The  tokens  of  manifold  social  activity  abound. 
In  the  days  of  old,  when  the  population  was 
sparse,  and  life  was  quiet,  if  not  slumberous, 
it  was  deemed  sufficient  to  have  a  house  of 
worship  for  the  parishioners.  Now,  at  least  in 
all    more    populous    centres,    the    Church    must 


Activity  in  CImrck  and  University.     3 1 5 

have  halls,  premises  for  the  prosecution  of 
Christian  work  in  the  surrounding  district,  for 
the  purposes  of  instruction,  recreation,  and 
fellowship.  More  and  more,  a  congregation  is 
developing  from  a  company  of  "  hearers "  of 
the  minister  into  a  partnership  for  the  carrying 
out  of  the  objects  of  the  Christian  society. 
And,  in  connexion  both  with  Church  and  with 
University,  there  are  some  striking  illustrations 
of  social  endeavour  which  it  may  be  well  to 
regard. 

The  contention,  it  will  be  understood,  is  that 
we  cannot  absolutely  separate  between  the  social 
and  the  spiritual ;  that,  in  aiming  at  the  con- 
version of  the  individual  soul,  the  Church  is 
really  aiming  at  and  promoting  social  good  ; 
that  every  one  who  welcomes  Christ  as  the 
light  of  his  seeing  becomes  necessarily  a  force 
economically  and  morally  gainful  to  the  world. 
Social  science  cannot  overlook  the  springs  of 
human  action.  What  they  are  —  their  wholc- 
someness  and  vitality  —  is,  after  all,  the  first 
of  considerations.  A  man  may  be  improved 
through  the  improvement  of  his  environment, 
—  assuredly,  he  will  be  deteriorated  when  he 
is  left  with  a  wretched  environment,  —  but  the 
improvement  coming  from  without  will  be  effec- 
tual only  when  there  is  an  improvement  coming 


3 1 6  Presetit-Day  Problems. 

from  within.  It  is  said  that  the  wellbeing  of 
the  proletariat  (so  called)  is  dependent  on  a 
revolution,  by  which  the  State  shall  be  made 
the  universal  capitalist  and  providence  of  the 
nation ;  but  human  nature  in  its  waywardness 
and  its  selfishness  needs  to  be  dealt  with  :  the 
social  happiness  desiderated  is  possible  only 
through  such  a  renewal  of  the  will  as  shall 
deliver  a  true  self-love,  perfected  in  social  fellow- 
ships and  disciplines,  from  a  love  of  self  which 
separates  from  one's  neighbour.  Permanently 
elevated  life  implies  the  moral  dynamic  that 
Christianity  specially  contemplates.  *'  The  wel- 
fare of  a  society,"  it  has  been  said,  "  is  nothing 
except  as  it  exists  in  the  conscious  experiences 
of  the  men  and  women  who  compose  it." 

The  ministries  that  are  based  on  principles, 
or  aim  at  results,  which  place  the  moral  eleva- 
tion of  the  individual  in  the  forefront,  represent 
varieties  in  effort  not  easily  classified.  There 
shall  be  no  attempt  in  these  pages  to  do  so ; 
only  some  examples  of  the  practical  expression 
of  the  Christian  enthusiasm  of  humanity  shall 
be  given. 

If  the  endeavours  that  are  mainly  directed 
to  the  conversion  of  the  soul  sunk  in  careless- 
ness and  sin  are  not  enlarged  upon,  this  is  not 


Evangelism  and  Philanthropy.        3 1 7 

because    they    are    undervalued.      Far    from    it. 
But   the  present  point  of  view  is  a  social  one, 
and  evangelistic  labour  is  referred  to  only  with 
the    view    of  bringing    out    that,    almost    neces- 
sarily, it  allies  itself  with  humanitarian  labours 
and     ends.      "What      is     the     use,"     exclaims 
General    Booth,    *' of   preaching    the    Gospel    to 
men     whose     whole     attention    is    concentrated 
upon   a   mad  desperate   struggle   to   keep   them- 
selves  alive?      The   first   thing   to   do  is  to  get 
a  man   at   least  a  footing   on  firm  ground,  and 
to    give    him    room    to    live.      Then    you    may 
have  a  chance."^      So  it  is  that,   in  the  desire 
to  gain  the  citadel  of  the  being,  an  evangelistic 
agency   gathers   around   it   a   vast   philanthropic 
service :    how   vast,    how   comprehensive    of  the 
needs    and   wants    of  both   body   and    soul,    the 
work    of    such    an    association    as    the     United 
Evangelistic  Association  of  Glasgow  testifies. 

Our  survey  includes  organisations  whose  out- 
look is,  not  so  much  the  regeneration  of  the 
life  by  the  power  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  as 
the  reformation  of  the  ways  and  habits  of  the 
people,  the  utilisation  of  educational  and  moral 
forces  in  widening  the  horizons  of  thought,  and 
the  elevation  of  the  average  standards  of  action. 

1  In  Darkest  England,  p.  145- 


3i8  Present- Day  Problems. 

Has  not  the  expansion  of  such  endeavours,  within 
recent  years,  been  wonderful  ?  For  this,  let  us 
freely  admit,  we  are  largely  indebted  to  the  dif- 
fusion of  views  with  a  socialistic  tendency,  to 
the  influence  of  a  social  interest  that  has  laid 
hold  of  minds  which  ordinary  Church  methods 
would  not  have  attracted.  Some  instances  of 
this  inspired  energy,  and  of  the  methods  by  which 
it  adapts  itself  to  a  new  era,  may  be  cited.  It  is 
fitting  that  these  instances  should  connect  with 
London,  in  the  social  condition  of  whose  millions 
are  most  fully  mirrored  the  heaven  and  the  hell  of 
humanity. 

A  young  undergraduate  of  Oxford,  too  soon 
taken  to  his  rest, — Arnold  Toynbee, — felt  the 
stimulating  force  of  John  Ruskin's  teaching  on 
art  and  on  other  topics.  He  projected  the  plan  of 
a  community  of  persons  with  means  and  leisure, 
associated  in  residence,  not  for  the  nurture  of 
a  solitary  and  particular  virtue,  but  for  the 
service  of  their  fellows — ''to  raise  the  level 
of  the  social  and  moral  conditions  of  life, 
to  lessen  the  evils  of  sweating,  and  heartless 
management  in  workshop  and  factory,  and  to 
stimulate  a  healthier  and  more  active  interest 
in  the  educational  and  municipal  movements 
in  the  neighbourhood."  ^     The  densely  crowded 

^  Report  of  Christian  Social  Union  Settlement,  1900,  p.  6. 


Toynbee  Hall.  3  r  9 

district  of  Whitechapel  was  selected  as  the 
scene  of  the  residence.  A  hall  was  founded  in 
1884  —  since  that  date  enlarged  —  as  "a  home 
for  university  men  who,  after  the  conclusion 
of  their  university  curriculum,  wish  to  combine 
work  for  others  with  the  duties  of  their  own 
profession  or  vocation,  or  who  may  be  able 
to  devote  the  main  portion  of  their  time  to 
such  work."  A  mediaeval  fraternity,  with  a 
nineteenth  -  century  aspect  and  a  much  more 
elastic  constitution  and  object,  was  revived  in 
the  region  of  London  slums.  The  conception 
was  effective.  Its  realisation  became  an  im- 
pressive memorial  of  the  originator.  To-day,  a 
wide  machinery  —  educational,  recreative,  gym- 
nastic—  is  related  to  it.  Its  residents  are 
managers  of  schools,  and  serve  in  public 
bodies.  There  are  lectures,  classes,  social 
evenings,  friendly  societies,  co-operative  socie- 
ties. Conferences  on  social  questions  are  held. 
Lawyers  are  at  hand  to  help  those  who  can- 
not pay  for  legal  advice.  Men  and  women  of 
good  social  status  meet  from  time  to  time  on 
equal  terms  with  the  people  of  Whitechapel. 
This  Toynbee  London  Hall  has  been  multiplied 
in  different  parts  of  the  Empire ;  the  original 
type,  with  local  variations,  being  preserved.  It 
cannot   be    reckoned  as  a   Church    organisation. 


320  Present-Day  Problems. 

It  does  not  even  set  Christianity  in  evidence. 
But  neither  is  it  non  -  rehgious :  for,  in  the 
words  of  its  London  head,  "  it  welcomes  as 
residents  or  associates  those  who  bring  to  the 
house  that  consciousness  of  dependence,  that 
humihty  of  thought,  that  willingness  to  spend 
and  be  spent  which  goes  with  all  forms  of 
true  religion."  ^  The  reports  issued  year  by 
year  give  most  interesting  pictures,  from  differ- 
ent points,  of  the  many  -  sided  activities  that 
enter  into  the  life  of  a  settlement. 

Other  settlements,  more  or  less  approximating 
to  Toynbee,  have  been  organised.  In  Hoxton, 
the  Christian  Social  Union  has  its  men's  and 
women's  hostels,  which  provide  social  and  ma- 
terial ministration,  without  excluding  the  deeper 
and  more  spiritual  sides  of  work,  the  aim  being 
to  extend  influence  "  further  and  further  until  this 
one  will  join  hands  with  that  one  across  the 
myriads  of  despondent  toilers,  and  men  shall 
realise  at  last  that  the  Fatherhood  of  God  is 
their  inheritance  and  the  brotherhood  of  man 
their  dearest  privilege,  and  that  these  together 
embody  and  fulfil  the  highest  instincts  and  truest 
aspirations  of  humanity  itself."  ^     Again,  in  North 

^  The  Sixteenth  Report  of  the  Universities'  Settlement  in  East 
London,  p.   ii. 

"^  First  Annual  Report  of  Christian  Social  Union  Settlement,  p.  9, 


Oxford  House.  3  2 1 

London  and  Vauxhall,  the  Lady  Margaret  Hall 
is  a  nucleus  of  women's  effort  on  behalf  of 
children,  in  promotion  of  women's  industries, 
and  in  aid  of  distress. ^  So  also,  in  another  part  of 
the  same  district,  the  St  Hilda's  East  Settlement, 
representing  the  Cheltenham  Ladies'  College, 
gives  "former  pupils  of  the  college  the  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  work  amongst  the  poor  of  the  East, 
and  learning  the  best  ways  of  helping  them."^ 

Very  noticeable  are  the  institutions  that 
associate  both  Church  and  University  in  social 
work.  Oxford  House,  in  Bethnal  Green,  has  its 
clubs  and  institutes,  its  musical  and  dramatic 
associations,  its  lectures  week-day  and  Sunday, 
its  service  in  surrounding  parishes,  in  hospitals, 
in  convalescent  homes,  in  schools,  in  com- 
mittees for  the  promotion  of  thrift,  and  the 
erection  of  better  houses ;  and  thus  it  provides 
a  wide  opportunity  for  those  who  sympathise 
with  its  ultimate  aim — "the  promotion  of  re- 
ligion  by  the  creation  of  a  more   congenial  at- 

^  Report,  June  1899-June  1900:  "No  branch  of  work  under- 
taken by  the  Lady  Margaret  Hall  Settlements  has  prospered  more, 
or  is  more  full  of  promise  for  the  future,  than  the  work  among 
invalids,  crippled  and  defective  children." 

'^  Report  June  1899-July  i,  1900:  "The  house  provides  accom- 
modation for  14  residents,  and  work  can  also  be  arranged  for  those 
who  are  not  able  to  live  in  Bethnal  Green,  but  who  are  willing  to 
give  a  certain  amount  of  time  weekly." 

X 


322  Present- Day  Problems, 

mosphere  and  a  higher  tone  of  morality."  ^  The 
ladies'  branch,  with  its  clubs,  its  parochial  and  its 
charitable  organisation  society  work,  its  holiday 
undertakings,  and  its  St  Neot's  Home,  is  a  fitting 
complement.^  On  similar  lines,  the  sister  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge  conducts  a  vigorous  agency. 
Amongst  its  special  features,  federations  of  work- 
ing-men's clubs,  and  developments  in  the  regions 
of  athletics,  lads'  brigades,  and  children's  country 
holidays,  may  be  mentioned.  The  most  recently 
issued  report  concludes  with  the  words,  "The 
time  has  now  come  when,  with  increased  faith  in 
our  vitality,  we  can  send  out  a  stronger  challenge 
than  ever  to  Cambridge  men  past  and  present 
to  help  us  in  carrying  on  a  work  that  has  proved 
its  staying  power  and  its  strong  foundations.^ 
Lastly,  in  East  London,  Mansfield  House,  the 
youngest  of  Oxford  colleges,  and  an  intellectual 

^  Report  for  1899,  P-  17=  "It  was  the  aim  of  the  promoters  of 
the  Settlement  to  undertake  a  social  work  which,  by  improving  the 
condition  of  social  life,  by  efforts  to  promote  healthy  recreation,  by 
the  endeavour  to  widen  the  intellectual  interests  of  men  and  boys, 
by  banding  together  in  a  common  work  all  who  desired  the  im- 
provement of  the  district,  might  strengthen  and  organise  the  forces 
of  opposition  to  irreligion  and  viciousness  of  life." 

''^Report  for  1900  :  "Our  staff,  resident  and  non-resident,  has 
grown  and  strengthened  in  numbers  and  in  experience ;  and  we 
have  readily  and  confidently  enlarged  our  club-enterprises  ;  adopted 
fresh  districts  ;  and  served  on  more  C.O.S.  and  other  committees." 

^  Report  for  1900. 


Mansfield  House.  323 

centre  of  English  Nonconformity,  has  its  Univer- 
sity settlement.  Its  success  has  fully  realised  the 
hope  which  inspired  its  formation — that  it  might 
"become  common  ground  on  which  men  and 
women  of  various  classes  may  meet  in  goodwill, 
sympathy,  and  friendship;  that  the  residents 
might  learn  something  of  the  conditions  of  an 
industrial  neighbourhood,  and  share  its  interests, 
and  endeavour  to  live  among  their  neighbours 
a  simple  and  religious  life."  By  its  Sunday 
afternoon  brotherhoods  and  Sunday  union  meet- 
ings ;  its  public  and  social  work ;  its  courses  of 
lectures,  reading  circles,  classes,  dramatic  per- 
formances, musical  evenings,  recreative  agencies  ; 
its  clubs,  guilds,  lodging  -  house,  convalescent 
home,  —  by  these  agencies,  and  in  other  ways, 
it  estabhshes  touch  between  residents  with  their 
friends,  and  the  people  of  the  surrounding 
district.^ 

These  are  typical  illustrations  of  a  kind  of 
social  work,  actuated  by  Christian  motives  and 
aims,  which  presents  features  that  deserve  at- 
tention. 

First,  the  settlements  referred  to  interpret  a 
desire  whose  diffusion  is  the  best  guarantee  that 
transitions  to  any  new  order,  or  any  modifications 
of  the  existing  order,  shall  be  accomplished  with- 

^  Report  for  1900. 


324  Pre  sent- Day  Problems. 

out  serious  social  dislocations ;  the  desire  to  bring 
the  more  cultured  and  opulent  classes  into  closer 
relation  to  the  life  and  needs  of  the  industrial 
or  the  poorer  population.     The  settlements  are 
conducted    on   the   lines   of  brotherhood.     They 
recognise    in    manhood   and    womanhood,    apart 
from  the  mere  surrounding,  the  root  and  reason 
of  the  true  equality— the  equality  of  the  common 
sonship  to  God,  and  of  the  fraternity  which  is  the 
outcome  of  this  sonship.      They  unite  residents 
and   associates   in  the  purpose  to  live  a  simple 
religious   life,  and,   with  singleness   of  mind,   to 
do  what  they  can  with  what  they  have  towards 
the  increase  of  the  sum  of  happiness  and  virtue. 
They    remind    all    that    ''goodness    is    the    only 
investment  which  never   fails."      They  supply  a 
cliniqiie   for   those  who   accept   goodness   as   the 
investment  of  their  life.      They  offer  an  oppor- 
tunity of  practical    instruction   in  the  great  art 
of  being   useful   in   right  ways  to  their  fellows. 
The  houses  and  halls  are  the  seat  of  colonies, 
planted  in  the  denser  areas  of  the  city,  with  its 
bitter  cries  ever  ringing  in  their  ears — its  wants 
studied,    not   from   an    armchair,    but   in   closest 
neighbourhood.      And,    in   the  free,  frank   inter^ 
course,  divested  of  all  that  savours  of  patronage, 
which  is  established  between  those  who  have  and 
those  who  have  not,  a  fusion  of  interests,  a  com- 


The  A  ii)is  of  Settlements.  325 

munity  of  feeling,  is  realised  which  recalls  the 
vision  of  a  far-past  day,  when  they  who  believed 
had  all  things  in  common.  Surely,  in  this  there 
is  a  finger  pointing  to  an  era  yet  coming,  when 

"  Man  to  man  the  warld  o'er, 
Shall  brithers  be  for  a'  that." 

Further,  the  London  settlements,  and  similar 
settlements  in  other  cities,  interpret  the  breadth 
of  the  Christian  spirit.  All  that  is  human  is 
declared  to  be  an  interest.  The  estate  of  the 
people  is  reached  at  many  points  and  on  many 
sides — child-life,  lad-life,  men's  life,  women's  life, 
family  life.  The  physical,  intellectual,  sanitary, 
moral  aspects  are  all  comprehended.  A  pro- 
hibitory ''Don't"  is  not  too  obtrusive:  the  en- 
deavour is  to  find  the  right  stimulus  that  shall 
counteract  the  wrong,  to  separate  coarse  and 
degrading  features  from  amusement,  to  make 
things  which  should  be  lovely  really  attractive, 
and  to  win  men  from  evil  by  giving  them  new 
tastes,  inclinations,  and  affections.  Benevolence, 
in  doles  of  charity,  is  not  encouraged ;  that  which 
is  encouraged  is  the  best  form  of  benevolence — 
the  putting  of  grit  into  the  soul,  the  helping 
of  persons  to  work  out  their  own  salvation.  The 
object  is  always  to  make  effective  the  truth  of  the 
citizenship,  which,  as  J.  H.  Green  says,  "alone 


326  Present- Day  Problems. 

gives  that  self-respect  without  which  there  is  no 
lasting  social  order  or  real  morality." 

And  yet  a  definite  conviction,  a  definite  highest 
purpose,  is  ever  present.  It  has  been  observed 
that,  in  many  socialistic  schemes,  there  is  a 
scanty  recognition  of  the  spiritual  and  moral 
forces.  In  some,  there  is  no  place  for  the  eternal, 
there  is  no  room  for  Christ,  except  in  so  far  as 
some  maxim  or  saying  of  Christ  gives  point  to 
a  contention.  Here,  then,  the  Christian  social 
work  parts  from  such  schemes.  Maintaining 
fellowship  with  those  who  believe  that  new  con- 
structions of  society  and  of  industry  are  demanded, 
with  a  view  to  the  amelioration  of  social  ills,  those 
who  are  associated  in  service,  at  all  events  in 
the  University  Settlements  and  in  the  Christian 
Union,  hold  fast  the  Christian  faith  in  its  es- 
sential integrity.  They  hold  that  "  it  is  hopeless 
to  think  of  founding  an  enduring  democratic 
State,  on  the  principles  of  Liberty,  EquaHty, 
and  Fraternity,  unless  these  principles  are  always 
sustained  and  invigorated  by  the  divine  fraternal 
love  that  flows  from  faith  in  Jesus  Christ."  This 
is  the  position  assumed,  and  "  the  more,"  as  the 
report  of  the  Christian  Social  Union  puts  it,  **one 
traces  the  history  of  the  different  attempts  which 
have  been  made  to  grapple  with  the  misery  of 
bygone  years,  the  more  one  realises  how  fleeting 


Labour  Colonies.  327 

in  its  effects — nay,  how  absolutely  futile  —  all 
social  reform  must  be  unless  it  is  accompanied 
step  by  step  by  the  deeper  influences  of  the 
Christian  faith."  ^ 

Colonies  of  university  men  and  others  who  are 
well  to  do  have  been  described ;  another  and  a 
very  different  species  of  colony  may  be  briefly 
referred  to.  Workmen,  sometimes  in  conse- 
quence of  their  own  ill-doing,  and  sometimes  by 
reason  of  misfortunes,  are  thrown  out  of  em- 
ployment, and  the  unskilled  among  them  are 
in  danger  of  lapsing  into  vagrancy.  To  meet 
this  kind  of  distress,  labour  colonies  in  England 
and  in  Scotland  have  been  organised.  The  Scot- 
tish Colony  Association,  though  still  in  the  day 
of  small  things,  has  made  an  interesting  and  a 
promising  experiment.  A  farm  in  Dumfriesshire 
was  first  rented  and  then  purchased,  and  to  it 
are  transferred  men  out  of  work,  unfit  for  work, 
who  there,  in  exchange  for  such  labour  as  their 
strength  permits,  obtain  food  and  shelter.  The 
new-comers  may  be  seen,  as  they  arrive  at  their 
temporary  home,  emaciated  and  feeble.  They 
get  a  light  task  at  first,  and,  in  the  measure 
of  their  physical  recuperation,  a  heavier  task. 
None  are  allowed  to  be  idle ;  and  usually  in 
three  months'   time,  refreshed   by   the   pure  air, 

^  Report  for  1900,  pp.  6,  7. 


328  Present-Day  Problems. 

invigorated  by  the  regular  exercise  and  the  plain 
but  wholesome  food,  they  are  able  to  return  to 
their  work,  with  a  small  bonus,  earned  by  good 
conduct,  in  their  hands.  On  Sundays,  they  wor- 
ship in  the  parish  church  of  Ruthwell;  they 
meet  for  worship  in  the  evening ;  neighbours  are 
kind ;  now  and  again  an  entertainment  of  an 
innocuous  character  is  provided.  "  There  is  no 
degradation  about  all  that  is  done,  no  tendency 
to  pauperisation.  On  the  contrary,  the  move- 
ment has  the  high  aim  of  helping  men  who  help 
themselves.  It  prevents  them  from  becoming  the 
slaves  of  crime  and  evil  habits,  and  keeps  them 
employed  until  they  are  in  a  position  to  fight  their 
own  individual  battles."  ^  As  an  endeavour  to  pre- 
vent the  *'  out-of-works  "  from  sinking  to  the  level 
of  the  loafer,  to  give  aid  in  a  form  that  inflicts  no 
injury  on  self-respect,  and  thus  to  lift  up  those 
who  are  stumbling  and  in  danger  of  falling,  the 
association  for  the  development  of  the  labour 
colony  fills  a  useful  place  in  the  record  of 
Christian  agencies. 

But  the  record,  even  in  so  far  as  that  is  now 
presented,  would  not  be  complete  without  an 
allusion  to  a  ministry,  unique  in  its  conception 

^  Report  of  the  Scottish  Labour  Colony  Association,  p.  4.  "  The 
whole  policy  is  summed  up  in  the  offer  of  food  and  shelter  in  ex- 
change for  work." 


The  Salvation  Amny.  329 

and  in  its  methods.  General  Booth,  in  his  sketch 
of  '  Darkest  England,'  has  said  of  the  "  Utopians, 
the  economists,  and  most  of  the  philanthropists, 
that  they  propound  remedies  which,  if  adopted 
to-morrow,  would  only  affect  the  aristocracy  of 
the  miserable.  It  is  the  thrifty,  the  industrious, 
the  sober,  the  thoughtful,  who  can  take  ad- 
vantage of  these  plans.  ...  No  one  will  ever 
make  even  a  visible  dint  on  the  morass  of 
squalor  who  does  not  deal  with  the  improvi- 
dent, the  lazy,  the  vicious,  and  the  criminal."^ 
These  wrecks  of  humanity  cannot  be  disregarded, 
in  the  expectation  of  some  future  economical 
revolution.  The  Church  must  care  for  those 
who  are  "down  in  the  quagmire  of  our  social 
life."  And  let  all  honour  be  given  to  the 
Army  which  holds  high  the  banner  of  God  and 
humanity  in  the  wild  hooHganism  of  our  cities. 
Much,  in  its  plans  and  modes  of  campaign,  may 
seem  at  variance  with  the  ideals  of  sober  piety ; 
but  the  circumstances  of  multitudes  are  such  that 
some  dash,  some  eccentricity  —  something  loud 
and,  to  a  finer  taste,  bordering  on  the  grotesque 
if  not  the  openly  irreverent — may  be  needful  in 
order  to  arouse  attention  and  to  stimulate  the 
imagination  in  the  way  by  which  alone  it  can 
be  stimulated.     At  all  events,  when  we  think  of 

^  In  Darkest  England,  pp.  35,  36. 


2,30  Present- Day  Problems. 

the  7560  corps,  led  by  13,505  officers,  besides 
40,114  local  ofBcers — all  fighting  a  battle  for 
God  and  righteousness  in  forty- seven  different 
countries ;  when  we  remember  the  nearly  6000 
social  institutions,  under  the  care  of  2200  officers, 
in  addition  to  many  others  who,  without  any 
rank,  are  wholly  employed  in  the  work ;  when 
we  recall  the  service  rendered  by  the  Army  in 
rescuing  those  who  have  strayed  from  the  paths 
of  virtue,  and  in  sheltering  and  endeavouring  to 
lift  up  the  down  and  the  wretched,^ — we  may 
feel  that  the  blessing  of  many  who  were  ready 
to  perish  is  on  it,  and  that  He  in  whose  name 
it  serves  is  saying  over  it,  '*  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  all  this  to  the  least  of  My  brethren, 
ye  have  done  it  unto  Me." 

^  In  the  review  of  the  social  work  of  the  Army  during  1900,  it  is 
stated  that  in  the  United  Kingdom  2,463,802  meals  were  supplied 
at  cheap  food  depots,  2460  women  and  girls  were  received  into 
rescue  homes,  59,718  families  in  slums  were  visited,  and  45,103 
public-houses  were  visited. 


33^ 


CHAPTER  XV. 

EFFECTUAL    CHURCH    MINISTRY. 

Imperfect  as  the  review  of  social  issues  has 
been,  it  has  shown  that,  in  the  circumstances 
and  conditions  of  modern  Hfe,  there  is  an  im- 
perative call  to  Christian  Churches  to  consider 
their  ways.  We  have  seen  that  many  of  the 
most  energetic  and  influential  developments  of 
that  Hfe  are  not  inspired  by  Christian  motives, 
that  sometimes  a  positive  hostility  to  organised 
religious  societies  is  expressed  in  them.  The 
action  of  the  Church  can  be  traced  only  on 
parts  of  the  surface;  and  the  tendency  un- 
doubtedly is  to  withdraw  wide  areas  of  interest 
from  any  spiritual  reference  and,  apart  from  this 
reference,  to  work  out  the  problem  of  social 
salvation.  In  view  of  this  and  also  of  the  ever- 
increasing  importance  of  the  social  question,  it 
seems  fitting  that,  before  the  task  undertaken 
in  this  volume  closes,  we  should  ask.  What  in 


^^2  Present- Day  Problems. 

the  existing  state  of  Christian  institutions  —  in 
their  action,  in  their  methods,  in  all  that  is 
visible  and  evidential — is  detrimental  to  their 
usefulness  ?  What  is  hindering  the  success  of 
their  mission  ?  What  is  imperilling  the  calamity 
to  which  Christ  alluded  when  He  spoke  of  the 
salt  losing  its  savour? 

The  Church  may  be  held  to  represent  three 
things — a  faith,  a  society,  a  social  propaganda. 
Each  of  these  constituents  implies  the  others ; 
but,  for  the  purpose  now  contemplated,  they 
may  be  regarded  separately  though  in  harmony. 
In  respect  of  each,  the  inquiry  proposed  is, 
How  can  the  ministry  of  the  Church  be  made 
more  fully  effectual  in  the  varied  conditions  of 
the  world  which  it  is  called  to  serve  ? 


I. 

Christianity  is  the  embodiment  of  a  faith 
"  once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints."  The 
communion  of  saints — the  Church  in  its  entirety 
— holds  this  faith  in  trust  for  the  good  of  man- 
kind. If  it  has  not  a  message  that  claims  to 
be  received  on  account  of  its  transcendent  im- 
portance, and  of  its  ability  to  interpret  and  fulfil 
the  human  life,  it  has,  and  can  have,  no  right  to 
be  heard   amidst   the   many  voices   of  the   age. 


The  Need  of  Religion.  333 

If  it  cannot  proclaim   its  message  with  a   force 
that  the  soul  must  recognise — "in  the  demon- 
stration  of  the    Spirit " — it  will    not    be   heard. 
''The  spread  of  socialism,"  it  has  been  affirmed, 
**  is  the  token  of  the  decline  of  religion."      We 
may    not    admit   the   dechne   of   religion.      Men 
need,   and   more  than  ever   in  the  present   time 
are  hungering  for,  a  word  which   they  can  feel 
to  be  a  gospel,  the   revelation   to   them  of  the 
kingdom   in  which  their  highest  aspirations  are 
satisfied,    and    in    the    possession    of  which  they 
have  the  righteousness  that  binds  man  to  man. 
Of  what   Matthew  Arnold   calls   religiosity  they 
are  impatient,  of  controversies  over  creeds  they 
make  little  account ;    but  they  crave  something 
more  than  political  economies ;    there  are  wants 
which  an  abundance  of  material  happiness  can- 
not   satisfy.      The  spread   of  socialism   may  in- 
dicate  a    dechne    of    Church    authority,    and   a 
growing   dissatisfaction    with    conventional   sym- 
bols  of    religion,   but    it    does    not    show    that 
religion  itself  is  less  necessary  or  is  less  desired. 
Nevertheless,  if  the   fellowship  that  the  Church 
offers  and  the  ministry  of  this  fellowship  are  thus 
set  aside;  if  there  is  a  widespread  scepticism  as 
to  the  ability  of  this  fellowship  and  ministry  to 
express  the  deepest   thought,  and  to  purify  the 
most  active  life  of  the  day;  the  situation  is  one 


334  Present- Day  Problems, 

of  gravity  for  the  household  of  faith.  The 
power  of  its  Gospel  is  challenged;  even  the 
claims  of  the  Christ  it  declares  are  questioned. 
How  can  this  scepticism  be  disarmed  ?  It  is, 
as  yet,  rather  a  tone  of  mind  than  a  body  of 
articulated  opinion :  how  can  a  new  confidence 
banish  the  distrust  ? 

The  answer  to  this  inquiry  takes  us  over  the 
entire  field  of  spiritual,  intellectual,  and  practical 
activity;  but  the  part  of  the  answer  which  is 
relevant  to  the  matter  specially  in  view  is,  that 
the  victory  over  all  sorts  of  doubt  and  misgiving 
will  be  found  in  the  might  with  which  the  faith 
is  proclaimed,  and  in  the  signs  which  follow  its 
proclamation.  The  confidence  of  the  Christian 
is  that  the  Spirit  of  God  who  dwells  with  the 
Church  is  the  witness  to  the  Christ  of  God, 
and  that,  according  to  His  power  working  in 
minds.  He  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly 
above  all  that  can  be  asked  or  thought.  But 
this  confidence  implies  a  human  condition.  The 
signs  "  follow  them  that  believe."  There  must 
be  a  subjective  faith  in  the  witnessing  Church 
which  receives  and  assimilates  the  objective  faith 
committed  to  it.  The  message  is  quick  and 
powerful  when  the  appeal  is  straight  to  the 
conscience,  when  it  rightly  apprehends  the 
human  nature  appealed  to,   when   it  is  directed 


Uncertamties  m  Belief.  335 

by  the  wisdom  and  the  sympathy  which  unlock 
the  fastenings  of  the  soul ;  and  if  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation  is  not  manifest  in  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom,  we 
are  bound  to  inquire  where  the  failure  lies  ? 
what  are  the  reasons  for  this  limitation  of  the 
Spirit  of  God? 

One  of  such  reasons  may  be  an  uncertainty 
in  the  Church  itself.  For,  the  confused  groping 
towards  new  landing  -  places  which  we  have 
observed  in  social  movements  has  its  counterpart 
in  the  Church.  The  more  progressive  intellects 
in  several  Churches  are  uneasy  in  the  habitudes 
of  thought  to  which,  by  their  most  venerated 
traditions  and  by  their  confessions,  they  are  re- 
lated, and  are  searching  for  ampler  spaces  into 
which  they  can  bear  the  sums  and  substances  of 
their  old  beliefs,  incorporating  them  with  larger 
apprehensions  of  God  and  of  His  world.  Now,  a 
time  in  which  earnest  men  are  voyaging  through 
troubled  waters  in  quest  of  new  havens,  in  which 
ancient  orders  of  belief  are  giving  place  to  new, 
but  these  new  not  clearly  defined,  is  almost  sure 
to  be  a  time  of  weakened  enthusiasm,  of  utter- 
ance lacking  in  the  concentrated  energy  which 
lays  effectual  siege  to  the  heart.  Inevitably, 
dubieties  in  thought  are  reflected  in  hesitancies 
of  voice.     And  three  results   follow.     Sympathy 


33^  Pre  sent- Day  Problems. 

with  the  most  advanced  positions  partakes  more 
or  less  of  the  character  of  a  revolt  against  Church 
authority.     Or  again,   to  those  whose   Christian 
life  cannot  be  dissociated  from  their  Church  life 
and  from  the  things  which  have  been  most  surely 
believed,  it  seems  as  if  the  foundations  of  the 
house  of  God  on  the  earth  were  shaken,  as  if 
even  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  in  the  firmament 
of  faith  were  darkened.     Or  yet  once  more,  to 
many,  unsettlements  in  the  sphere  of  belief  repre- 
sent ineptitudes  at  which  they  mock,  or  discords 
which  they  have  neither  the  time  nor  the  will 
to  regard.      They  turn  away  from  the  Church, 
and   transfer   their  worship   to  what    is   positive 
and  material. 

Thus,  an  arrest  is  put  alike  on  zeal  and  on 
force  by  intellectual  incertitudes  in  the  Church. 
But,  if  its  teaching  wants  in  strength,  it  may 
also  want  in  the  wisdom  by  which  the  ear  of 
the  generation  it  serves  is  secured.  The  Church 
is  not  to  give  the  truth  intrusted  to  it  away,  from 
the  desire  to  be  on  good  terms  with  critic  or  secu- 
larist. Nor  must  it  fight  with  armour  that  has 
not  been  proved.  Nevertheless,  without  yielding 
aught  of  that  word  of  the  Lord  which  is  "  for 
ever  settled  in  heaven,"  it  must  learn,  through  its 
understanding  of  the  time,  how  best  to  speak 
to  men.      It  has  to   read   out  of  two  books  of 


The  Mmistry  of  the  Church.  337 

God,  each  of  which  sheds  Hght  on  the  other :  the 
book  of  the  life  which  Hes  around  it,  and  the 
book  of  the  laws  of  the  eternal  life  of  which  it  is 
the  custodian.  If  it  would  rightly  dispense  the 
fulness  of  the  latter  book,  and  indicate  the 
applications  of  its  principles  to  the  constituents 
and  facts  of  society,  it  must  diligently  study  the 
contents  of  the  former.  It  must  be  always  a 
hearer  and  asker  of  questions,  surveying  life  in 
all  its  phases,  in  order  that  it  may  discern  and 
enforce  the  bearings  of  Christian  truth  on  the 
complex  conditions  of  society.  The  region  of 
its  special  influence  is  one  which  the  political 
economist  does  not  enter — man's  highest  uni- 
verse, without  the  realisation  of  which  his  being 
is  incomplete.  There  is  no  charge  more  fre- 
quently pressed  against  the  authorised  ministry 
of  the  Church  than  that  it  does  not  hit  the 
nail  on  the  very  head;  does  not  speak  to  the 
world  in  the  manner  that  commands  its  atten- 
tion. This  charge  is  not  to  be  lightly  regarded. 
Churches  may  well  consider  whether  in  their 
pulpits  there  is  not  frequently  a  failure  in  relev- 
ance ;  whether  the  character  of  the  instruction  is 
not  such  as  misses  the  mark  in  the  case  of  many 
with  whom  the  world  is  present  early  and  late ; 
whether  the  language  in  which  it  is  conveyed  is 
not  that  of  books  rather  than    of  life,    and   the 

Y 


^^S  Pre  sent- Day  Problems. 

mind  is  busied  over  matters  that  do  not  bring 
men  into  touch  with  what  they  feel  to  be  vital, 
and  do  not  give  them  really  ''  a  lamp  to  their 
feet  and  a  light  to  their  path."  Having  re- 
gard to  all  the  social  stir  and  ferment  of  which 
they  are  conscious,  Christian  people  are  bound, 
by  the  obligations  of  loyalty  to  their  Lord,  to 
inquire  into  all  that  mars  the  effect  of  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  faith,  to  eliminate  the  elements 
which  living  thought  can  no  longer  assimilate 
from  the  statement  of  Christian  verity,  and  thus 
to  bring  the  statement  into  fuller  harmony  with 
the  larger  perspectives  of  the  present  day. 

But  of  all  hindrances  to  the  "  free  course  "  of 
the  faith,  none  is  more  real,  none  more  constantly 
quoted,  than  the  separation  between  the  faith  as 
professed  and  the  life  as  lived  of  those  "who 
profess  and  call  themselves  Christians."  Evi- 
dences of  Christianity  cannot  always  be  sifted  ; 
but  there  is  an  evidence  which  men  can  and  do 
sift.  They  test  the  worth  of  a  religion  by  the 
fruits  in  conduct  which  appear.  They  are  some- 
times unfair  both  to  those  who  adhere  to  the  re- 
ligion and  to  the  religion  itself.  The  best  of  men 
are  only  men  at  the  best :  there  will  be  flaws  in 
the  marble ;  there  will  be  inconsistencies  at  one 
point  or  at  another.  And,  instead  of  condemning 
the  religion  because  of  the  faults  of  those  who 


Citrrcnts  of  Feeling. 


JO' 


acknowledge  it  to  be  theirs,  the  faults  may  prove 
only  how  high  the  ideal  is ;  how,  as  measured  by 
its  purity  and  holiness,  imperfections  and  errors 
are  made  only  the  more  apparent.  But  it  is  on 
the  glaring  inconsistency  that  multitudes  lay  hold. 
They  sneer  at  the  capitalist,  with  his  long  and 
solemn  face  on  Sunday,  and  his  keen,  rasping, 
grasping  way  on  Monday  ;  praying  for  the  heathen 
abroad,  but  ignorant  of  the  condition  of  those 
whom  he  employs.  They  sneer  at  the  clergy, 
doing  their  statutory  work,  and  keeping  apart 
from  the  sins  and  miseries  of  their  fellows.  They 
point  to  stock  exchanges  and  trust  companies, 
and  many  sorts  of  business,  with  their  tricks  and 
deceits,  their  grinding  of  poor  toilers,  their  gospels 
of  cheapness.  They  dwell  on  the  gaps  between 
what  is  believed  and  what  is  actually  done,  and 
protest  that  a  religion  that  dwells  on  another 
world  and  does  not  reform  this,  that  has  tides  of 
praise  to  God  and  feels  not  the  tides  of  discontent 
that  are  surging  around,  that  passes  by  the  poor 
and  defers  to  the  rich,  is  not  for  them ;  that  it  is  a 
clog  on  the  wheels  of  progress,  and  is  a  gigantic 
untruth.  In  all  this,  of  course,  there  is  extrava- 
gance. But,  allowing  for  the  extravagance,  we 
may  take  note  of  the  currents  of  feeling  which 
are  indicated,  currents  that  can  only  be  stemmed 
by  a  revived   and   heightened  ethical   life  in  the 


340  Present- Day  Problems, 

Church.  The  Church  is  more  than  an  ethical 
institute :  but,  though  it  is  more,  it  must  be 
that ;  and  it  must  show  that  its  hoHness  is  a 
robust  and  an  all-pervading  power.  The  question 
has  been  put,  "Are  there  any  Christians  still?" 
and  it  has  been  argued  that  there  is  nothing  in 
the  practical  Christianity  of  the  day  that  cannot 
be  accounted  for  without  the  demand  for  a  faith 
in  supernatural  interventions  and  aids.  Now, 
whilst  we  all  know  those  in  whom  the  faith  in 
Christ  is  a  spiritual  and  moral  force,  who  can 
say,  '^  I  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in 
me,"  still  it  must  be  owned  that  the  tones  and 
standards  of  what  may  be  called  the  average 
Christianity  give  some  justification  for  the  argu- 
ment. If  the  Church  would  realise  its  social 
mission,  there  must  be  an  uplifting  of  the  concep- 
tion of  the  true  Christian  righteousness,  and  an 
insistence  on  a  more  strenuous  endeavour  to  fulfil 
this  conception.  The  power  of  Christian  motive 
must  be  brought  to  bear  on  business  and  on 
politics.  The  formation  of  Christian  Social 
Unions,  whose  object  is  *^to  claim  for  the 
Christian  law  the  ultimate  authority  to  rule 
social  practice,"  is  a  movement  in  the  right 
direction.  Those  who  enter  into  such  unions 
are  called  to  prove  that  the  law  for  which  they 
claim    an    ultimate    authority   is    sovereign    and 


A  needed  Increase.  341 

supreme  over  their  practice.  We  need  noble 
**  public  souls  "  ;  men  and  women  who  are  them- 
selves gospels.  To  develop,  discipline,  and 
educate  such  souls  is  the  office  of  the  Church. 
It  represents  a  ''co-operation  in  the  endeavour  to 
bring  the  faith  of  the  Gospel  into  the  council- 
chamber  and  the  market-place."  ^ 

No  prayer  more  befits  the  company  of  faith- 
ful people  in  the  present  day  than  that  which 
the  apostles  addressed  to  their  Lord,  *'  Increase 
our  faith."  The  strongest  in  the  grace  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  will  feel  most,  in  the  face  of  all 
the  perplexities  and  difficulties  by  which  he  is 
beset,  the  need  of  additions  —  of  **  a  more  and 
ever  more."  Christendom,  and  not  least  reformed 
Christendom,  needs  a  new  day  of  Pentecost, 
with  ''  the  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing 
mighty  wind  filling  all  the  house."  From  every 
part  of  the  house,  the  appeal  to  the  unseen 
Lord  and  Head  is,  "  Wilt  Thou  not  quicken  us 
again,  that  Thy  people  may  rejoice  in  Thee  ?  " 
The  Church  may  be  assured  that,  where  there 
is  apparent  failure,  the  cause  is  in  itself,  not 
in  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  A  veteran  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  to  w^hom  the  truth  of  the  incarna- 
tion was  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  has  stated  the 
confidence  that  an  experience  of  fifty  years  had 

^  WestcoU,  Lessons  from  Work,  p.  264. 


342  Present- Day  Problems, 

compacted  —  it  is  a  confidence  that  the  Church 
can  take  to  its  heart :  "  I  have  learnt  more  and 
more  certainly  that  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is  able 
to  meet  the  danger,  and  that  it  confirms  the 
social  application  of  the  faith  which  I  have  ven- 
tured to  call  a  revelation  for  our  time.  It  lays 
open  the  source  of  the  danger  in  our  forgetful- 
ness  of  our  divine  kinsmanship  ;  it  justifies  our 
aspirations  by  showing  that  the  Son  of  God  took 
our  nature  upon  Him,  not  to  make  us  brethren, 
but  because  we  were  brethren  ;  it  brings  to  all 
men  one  divine  aim,  and  with  that  a  unity  of 
life."i 

II. 

But  the  Church,  whilst  called  to  teach  and 
to  preach  the  faith,  is  a  society.  Its  social 
character  is  not  the  consequence  of  a  concourse 
of  minds  holding  "the  like  precious  faith"  —  it 
is  in  and  of  the  essential  and  everlasting  nature 
of  things.  For,  the  Church  is  a  fellowship,  a 
brotherhood,  an  election  by  God  out  of  man- 
kind, for  the  good  of  mankind,  united  to  the 
elect  Son  in  whom  the  Father's  soul  delights. 
It  is  an  organism  in  vital  relation  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  tendency  of  this  day,  as  we  have  seen,  is 

^  Lessons  from  Work,  p.  262. 


The  Church,  a  Social-Spiritual  Order.     343 

collectivist,    not    individualistic.      It    is    towards 
large  social  actions.     Society  is  regarded  as  an 
organism,  comprehending  an  indefinite  variety  of 
members,  none  of  which  are  to  be  exploited,  all 
of  which  are   to    receive   of  the  commonwealth, 
on  the  one  condition  that  all  contribute  by  per- 
sonal service  to  the  commonwealth.     In  this,  do 
we  not  perceive  the  ideal  which  should  be  mani- 
fested in  the  actual  Church?      We  have  traced, 
towards  the  beginning  of  this  volume,  the  work- 
ing out  of  the  ideal  in  the  first  ages  of  Christ- 
ianity.     We   have    noted   that    this   Christianity 
combined  many  of  the  elements  of  Roman  im- 
perialism   with     the    higher    imperialism     of    a 
spiritual    kingdom,    whose    nobility    is    that    of 
ministry,    whose    glory   is    that    of   sacrifice.      It 
was  by  the  capacity  of  sacrifice,  by  the  brother- 
hood signed  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  that  the 
Church    conquered    the    Roman    world.      It    re- 
mains   to    the    Church    in    these   latter   days   to 
hark  back  to  that  glory,  to  recall  that  nobility. 
Its  vocation  is  to  represent  more  fully  to  man- 
kind the  social  life  which  is  proper  to  it  — the 
life    w^hose    fundamental    principle    is,    that    the 
good  of  the  whole  is  to  be  distributed  amongst 
the  members,  and  that  each  of  the  members  is 
to  contribute,   personally  and   efficiently,   to  the 
good  of  the  whole.      The   Church  ought   to   be 


344  Present- Day  Problems. 

the  mirror  of  the  true  spiritual  order  —  not 
mingling  itself  with  the  politics  of  party,  but 
influencing  politics  by  the  force  of  the  example 
that  it  sets,  of  the  truth  that  it  manifests, 
and  of  the  influences  that  proceed  from  this 
example  and  this  truth.  It  ought  to  train  and 
to  give  direction  to  the  spirit  of  citizenship.  It 
is  the  witness  for  a  citizenship  which  links  all 
that  is  active  to  the  loftiest  aspirations  of  hum- 
anity, which  connects  the  hopes  of  the  loyal 
and  true  with  a  kingdom  of  God  ;  and,  nourish- 
ing a  genuine  enthusiasm  for  whatsoever  things 
are  just  and  pure  and  lovely  and  of  good  re- 
port, it  is,  or  should  be,  the  evidence  that  the 
love  of  God  is  poured  out  into  our  world  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  whom  He  has  given  us. 

But  this  evidence  is  obscured  by  the  divisions 
of  the  Church.  There  are  unities,  indeed,  which 
in  some  measure  moderate  the  chills  caused  by 
external  separations,  and,  in  spite  of  these  separa- 
tions, maintain  an  inward  moral  fellowship.  In 
the  Scriptures,  to  which  Reformed  Churches 
appeal  as  the  supreme  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 
there  is  "  a  unity  of  ethical  purpose  which  never 
fails  through  age  after  age  " ;  and  this,  amidst  all 
varieties  of  constitution,  is  reflected  in  Christ- 
endom. In  the  Babel  -  like  confusion  of  voices, 
we    can    yet    distinguish    one    historic    and    con- 


Church  Union.  345 

tinuous  belief.  There  is  a  unity  of  devotion  in 
the  worship  of  Christians,  however  diversified 
its  forms  may  be.  And,  in  the  administration  of 
gifts  by  **  the  self-same  Spirit,"  God  is  always 
'Mending  minds  out."  When  He  speaks  to  any 
soul,  He  speaks  through  it  to  the  world  -  wide 
parliament  of  souls.  The  vision  of  the  one  body 
is  never  altogether  lost.  It  can  be  discerned  by 
all  who  have  the  eyes  to  see.  But  it  is  the 
Church  in  that  which  is  most  visible  that  attracts 
or  repels  the  vast  majority  of  men ;  and  the  exist- 
ing condition  of  the  Christian  society,  broken  into 
sections  between  which  there  are  wide  cleavages, 
seems  to  be  a  denial  of  the  one  flock  with  the  one 
Shepherd,  of  the  one  body  with  the  one  Head. 
Surely,  not  the  least  urgent  of  the  lessons  to  be 
read,  marked,  and  learned  from  the  features  of 
social  hfe  on  which,  in  this  volume,  we  have 
dwelt,  is  the  need — for  the  truth's  sake,  for  the 
sake  of  human  wellbeing  —  of  reducing  to  a 
minimum  the  occasions  of  strife  in  the  Church 
of  God,  of  concentrating  the  scattered  religious 
forces,  of  promoting  such  a  unity  in  action  as 
shall  make  more  effectual  the  motive -power  of 
Christianity.  How  is  this  to  be  realised  ?  How 
is  the  desire  of  Christ,  that  all  who  believe  in 
Him  shall  be  one,  to  have  more  distinct  and 
abundant  fruition  ? 


34^  Present-Day  Problems. 

The  subject  of  Church  union  is  beset  by  diffi- 
culties, on  which,  and  on  the  removal  of  which, 
it  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  chapter  to 
enlarge.  But  four  points,  essential  to  any  real 
endeavour  towards  this  union,  may  be  indicated. 

The  first  is  an  honest  determination,  spread- 
ing in  the  circles  of  Church  membership  and 
becoming  a  pressure  on  Church  leaders,  that 
there  must  be,  and  shall  be,  a  fuller  and 
more  explicit  concord.  Hitherto,  unity  has  been 
too  much  a  pious  sentiment.  It  has  not  marked 
a  supreme  and  distinct  purpose.  The  practical 
strength  has  been  given  to  the  interests  of  the 
denomination :  in  plans,  or  projects,  or  schemes 
of  wider  fellowship,  men  have  put  the  denom- 
ination before,  instead  of  behind,  them.  Now, 
there  is  a  loyalty  to  the  special  Church  flag 
which  is  entitled  to  the  respect  that  is  due  to 
earnest  conviction.  But  there  will  be  no  real 
advance  in  the  direction  of  union  until  the  feel- 
ing becomes  intense,  that  the  circumstances  of 
the  time  loudly  call  for  the  predominance  of  a 
higher  loyalty  still— loyalty  to  Christ  Himself 
and  to  the  world  which  the  Church  serves  in 
His  name;  and  that  this  loyalty  demands  a 
disengagement  from  the  trammels  of  denomina- 
tionalism,  a  readiness,  with  perfect  candour,  and 
with  the  reverence  befitting  those  who  are  wait- 


The  Effect  of  fuller  Communion.      347 

ing  on  God  for  direction,  to  inquire  how  the 
Christian  consciousness  shall  best  be  interpreted, 
and  the  Christian  concert,  in  the  work  given  to 
the  one  body  of  the  Lord,  shall  most  effectively 
be  fulfilled. 

Assuming    that    the    desire    for    a    completer 
unity  becomes   an  operative  force  in   Churches, 
a   further  necessity  is  that    persons   of  different 
communions    shall   know   each    other,    not   m    a 
mere  general  way,  but  through  those  intimacies 
of  conference   and    prayer    by   means    of  which 
souls    pierce    through    the    outer    court   of    the 
ecclesiastic  into  the  sanctuary  of  the  Christian 
and  the  man.      Such  knowledge  thaws  the  ice 
of  exclusiveness,  rounds  the  corners  of  sectarian- 
ism,  lets    men    see   how   like   they   are    to   each 
other,    and   how    much    there    is    in    each   to    be 
liked    by    the    other,    makes    those    who    have 
hitherto    dwelt    apart    feel    at     home    together. 
In  every  Church,  there  are  minds  so  narrow  in 
their  range  and  so  stubborn  in  their  prejudices, 
that  any  platform  except  that  which  entirely  re- 
presents  them    will    seem    too    broad.      But,    in 
the   large   and    charitable    air    ot    a    true,    frank 
communion    of   spirit    and    thought,    the    small- 
ness    of   the   sectary   and   the   bitterness   of   the 
fanatic  vanish.     In  the  measure  in  which  mutual 
regard   and   intelligent   perception  of  the  whole 


34^  Present-Day  Problems, 

ecclesiastical  situation  are  promoted,  the  ideal 
of  the  Christian  society  as  being  truly  one 
body  will  assume  its  right  proportions.  We 
must  be  content  with  slow  travelling  in  the  pro- 
motion of  this  knowledge.  Prepossessions  are 
obstinate.  Feelings  which  mark  the  scars  that 
are  inherited  from  the  past  cannot  at  once  be 
eradicated.  Love  suffers  long,  and  it  has  often 
a  long  time  in  which  to  suffer.  But  it  never 
fails.  Hasten  slowly,  it  says,  in  getting  all 
things  ready.  When  they  are  ready,  the  rail- 
way speed  wall  come. 

Probably,  a  development  of  the  future  that 
will  aid  unity  is  one  to  which  Mr  A.  J.  Balfour 
pointed  in  a  thoughtful  speech  delivered  some 
time  ago.  It  is  that  of  giving  ampler  space  in 
Church  courts  and  on  Church  arenas  for  open 
questions.  There  are  many  issues,  belonging  to 
government,  or  ritual,  or  national  policy,  which 
might  be  held  as  open,  not  as  articles  of  faith  or 
conditions  of  unity.  Within  constitutional  and 
confessional  limits,  and  sometimes  outwith  these 
limits  when  rigidly  interpreted,  all  Churches  make 
room  for  latitudes  of  view.  Schools  of  thought, 
differing  almost  to  the  point  of  opposition,  are 
comprehended.  May  not  this  comprehensive- 
ness be  extended  with  a  view  to  a  broader  fellow- 
ship  of  Churches  ?      May  not   wider  ranges   be 


open  Oiiestions.  349 

allowed  for  varieties  in  the  apprehension  of 
truth,  so  long  as  there  is  unity  in  fundamental 
beliefs  and  principles  ?  There  are  topics,  more- 
over, that  have  formed  burning  questions  on 
the  floor  of  Assembly  and  Synod,  which,  to  the 
great  gain  of  Christian  charity,  might  be  removed 
from  their  purview,  and  left  to  be  dealt  with  as 
questions  for  the  individual  citizen.  Some  re- 
marks of  Dr  Robertson  Nicoll,  in  a  late  number 
of  the  *  Liberal  Review,'  illustrative  of  this,  may 
fairly  be  held  to  represent  a  prevalent  sentiment. 
*' It  is  probable,"  he  writes,  "that  the  advocacy 
of  Disestablishment  will  become  less  and  less 
pronounced  in  ecclesiastical  courts.  "What  is 
done  will  be  done  by  men  acting  in  their 
capacity  as  citizens.  The  problems  of  the  great 
cities  have  been  weighing  more  and  more  on 
the  minds  of  Christian  Scotsmen.  The  state  of 
the  vast  masses  who  never  attend  any  place  of 
worship,  and  live  in  conditions  practically  fatal 
to  decency  and  morality,  must  be  improved." 
There  is  the  ring  at  once  of  a  true  earnestness 
and  of  a  sweet  reasonableness  in  these  words, 
and  in  the  spread  of  this  earnestness  and  this 
reasonableness  lie  the  hopes  of  a  reconstructed 
Church  in  Scotland. 

They  remind  us,  also,  of  a  mode  of  union  which 
does  not  involve  long   and    anxious  negotiation. 


350  Present- Day  Problems. 

It  is  the  way  of  practical  social  action.  A  leading 
Scottish  newspaper,  commenting  on  Dr  Robertson 
Nicoll's  article,  observed,  *'  Certainly  the  Churches 
cannot  do  better  than  unite  their  forces  in  an 
assault  on  social  questions."^  In  such  a  united 
assault  there  need  be  no  interference  with  the 
autonomy  or  the  legitimate  development  of  each 
Church.  There  need  not  even  be  formal  federa- 
tion. What  is  wanted  is  merely  the  agreement, 
allowing  testimonies  to  remain  where  they  are,  to 
make  a  concerted  and  strenuous  effort  towards 
social  salvation,  on  the  basis  of  the  common 
Christian  hope  and  life.  Ministers  and  members 
might  assemble  to  study  social  needs,  methods, 
applications  of  the  law  of  Christ  to  the  complexi- 
ties of  society,  to  the  phases  of  the  humanity  which 
forms  their  prospect,  and  so  order  their  forces  that 
there  shall  be  no  waste  and  overlapping,  but  dis- 
ciplined and  sympathetic  movement.  There  are 
many  points  at  which  the  Church  can  come  into 
line  with  the  best  effort  of  the  day.  An  example 
may  be  given.  Towards  the  close  of  the  'Sixties 
in  the  century  which  has  closed,  under  the  dread 
of  cholera,  congregations  of  all  denominations  in 
Glasgow  co-operated  in  the  rectification  of  insani- 
tary conditions,  and  the  cleansing  and  better 
fitting   of  homes.      The   authorities   of  the   city 

^  The  Glasgow  Herald. 


Social  Co-operation.  3  5 1 

acknowledged  the  great  service  which  was  thus 
rendered.  Nor  did  the  Churches  themselves  fail 
to  receive  a  benefit.  What  opportunities  for 
similar  co  -  operation  are  presented  !  ''  The 
Churches,"  added  the  newspaper  referred  to, 
"  might  even  obtain  a  fresh  lease  of  power  and 
popularity."  Power  and  popularity  are  not  ends 
to  be  sought.  But  the  ends  which  the  Christian 
brotherhood  is  bound  to  seek  would  be  attained 
by  this  mutuality  of  moral  and  spiritual  force. 
The  good  of  men  would  be  furthered.  The  bene- 
ficent character  of  Christianity  would  be  vindi- 
cated. The  essential  unity  of  the  Church  would 
be  manifested.  The  Son  of  man  would  see  of  the 
travail  of  His  soul  and  be  satisfied.  Social  union 
would  help  to  a  more  visible  realisation  of  the  one 
body — the  society  which  Christ  founded. 

Ecclesiastical  unions  cannot  be  rushed.  Those 
that  are  called  incorporating  may  represent  a 
loss  as  well  as  a  gain — a  loss  in  so  far  as  they  re- 
press some  characteristic  expression  of  the  Christ- 
ian mind,  or  chill  some  special  warmth  of  Christ- 
ian interest.  In  any  case,  they  are  genuine  and 
beneficial  only  when  they  mark  the  growth  of  an 
inner  spirit  of  unity  which  had  so  permeated  the 
relations  of  the  uniting  bodies  as  to  make  the 
external  union,  not  only  fitting,  but  inevitable. 
Therefore,  before  union  comes  unity.     And,  keep- 


352  Present- Day  Problems. 

ing  in  view  the  many  and  the  difficult  problems 
which  have  been  previously  referred  to,  the  call 
to  social  unity  may  well  assume  the  form  of  the 
address  which  Milton  has  put  into  the  lips  of 
Adam  when,  after  the  fiat  of  expulsion  from  their 
Paradise,  he  says  to  the  partner  in  his  sorrow — 

"  But  rise  ;  let  us  no  more  contend,  nor  blame 
Each  other,  blamed  enough  elsewhere,  but  strive 
In  offices  of  love  how  we  may  lighten 
Each  other's  burden  in  our  share  of  woe." 


III. 


The  union  of  Churches  in  practical  service 
would  give  a  new  momentum  to  the  social  pro- 
paganda which  the  commission  of  Christ  implies. 
He  sent  His  Church  into  the  world.  He  bade  it 
go  into  all  the  world  and  make  disciples  out  of  all 
nations ;  its  special  instrument,  the  Gospel  of  His 
Kingdom  ;  its  special  office,  to  build  up  human 
life  in  the  truth  of  His  Kingdom  by  the  diffusion 
of  the  Gospel,  with  all  the  influences  that  are 
proper  to  it,  and  in  all  the  ways  by  which  effect 
can  be  given  to  it.  The  Church,  as  has  been 
pointed  out,  is  necessarily  aggressive  and  neces- 
sarily social.  It  is  itself  a  social  state,  and  it  is 
called  to  realise  the  laws  and  blessings  of  its 
sociality  in  the  civic  society  which  forms  its  en- 


The  Issue  pressing  on  Churches.       353 

vironment.  How,  in  more  adequate  manner,  to 
accomplish  its  vocation,  how  to  regenerate  and 
enrich  mankind,  is  the  issue  on  which  a  more 
truly  united  Church  would  bestow  the  force  of  its 
most  enlightened  zeal,  and  its  most  competent 
intellectual  and  practical  force. 

It  is  the  issue  that  is  pressing  on  the  Churches 
of  Great  Britain.  The  men  of  greatest  influence 
in  the  Church  of  England  are  keenly  alive  to  the 
need  of  more  freedom  in  its  constitution,  of 
more  variety  in  its  services,  of  more  flexibility 
in  its  agencies,  of  a  more  distinct  place  and  work 
for  its  laity.  A  refreshing  illustration  of  the 
liberality  of  view  that  may  distinguish  a  High 
Churchman  is  supplied  in  the  earnestness  with 
which  the  new  Bishop  of  Worcester  (Canon  Gore) 
has  called  the  attention  of  English  Churchmen  to 
some  of  the  distinctive  features  of  the  constitution 
and  ministry  of  the  Scottish  Church.  The  Free 
Churches  in  England  also  recognise  that  the 
social  conditions  and  wants  of  the  day  impose 
on  them  the  obligation  to  recast  many  of  their 
agencies.  In  Scotland,  there  is  a  marked  ad- 
vance in  the  same  direction.  The  reports  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland's  Commission  on  the 
Religious  Condition  of  the  People  may  be  quoted 
in  evidence. 

In  the  flrst  of  these  reports  (1891),  the  Com- 
z 


354  Present-Day  Problems. 

mission,  after  saying  that  ''no  better  system  for 
the  planting  of  practical  Christianity  in  every 
part  of  the  land  could  be  devised  than  the  par- 
ochial or  territorial  system,  if  it  is  sufficiently 
and  efficiently  applied,"  proceeds :  "  But  the 
increase  of  the  population,  and  the  ever-growing 
intensity  and  manifoldness  of  life,  make  it  im- 
perative to  readjust  the  machinery  and  to  supply 
additional  motive-power,  if  the  work  aimed  at  is 
to  be  really  done.  The  one  minister  for  one 
parish  is  in  many  cases  inadequate.  The  ministry 
must  be  multiplied.  It  is  not  stone  and  lime 
that  is  needed, — here  and  there,  of  course,  it 
is  needed;  it  is  not  further  division  and  sub- 
division of  territory, — here  and  there  that  too 
is  needed ;  but,  speaking  generally,  it  seems  to 
the  Commission  that  the  most  urgent  want  is 
more  labourers,  and  more  variety  in  the  form 
of  the  labour."  And  four  types  of  ministry  are 
indicated  —  parish  missionaries  ;  lay  evangelists, 
"who  might  come  to  the  people  with  more  of 
the  vernacular  and  the  plain  homespun  than  the 
stated  pastorate  with  the  assistance  of  licenti- 
ates, living  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  and  doing 
the  work  of  a  soldier  of  the  cross  in  square  and 
slum ;  "  women  as  deaconesses,  sisters,  nurses  ; 
and  special  mission  preachers,  helping  ''to  deepen 
and  quicken  the  life  of  congregations,  and  thus 


Commission  on  Condition  of  People.     355 

also  to  strengthen  the  aggressive  work  of  the 
Church." 

In  the  reports  of  successive  years,  rural  and 
city  populations — the  miner,  the  fisherman,  the 
farm-labourer  and  his  bothy,  the  female  worker 
in  fields,  as  well  as  the  different  elements  in  the 
town,  are  included  in  the  view ;  elasticities  of 
operation  are  suggested,  and  the  changes  are  ever 
rung  on  the  note,  "The  Church  cannot  confine 
its  labours  to  any  one  phase  or  side,  even  the 
loftiest,  of  the  complex  life  which  it  is  called  to 
influence.  It  must  comprehend  that  life  in  its 
breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height."  ^ 

The  statements  of  the  Commission  are  cxhibi- 
tive  of  the  trend  of  all  Church  life  in  Scotland. 

Three  points  in  this  trend  may  be  noticed. 
The  first,  an  increasing  desire  to  make  the  house 
of  God  more  attractive  and  hospitable ;  to  ex- 
press more  heartily  a  welcome  to  all,  the  poorest 
equally  with  the  richest ;  to  wipe  out  the  re- 
proach which  an  earnest  Glasgow  philanthropist 
expressed,  **  Great  masses  of  the  population  of 
Glasgow  look  upon  the  Church  as  something 
for  ministers,  or  something  to  be  made  out  of 
them,  and  not  as  something  to  be  given  them."  - 
The  second,  to  develop,  not  mere  agency,  but 
the  contact  of  person  with  person,  in  all    effort 

^  Report,  1892.  '^  Ibid. 


35^  Present- Day  Problems, 

for  the  uplifting  and  amelioration  of  social  con- 
ditions. And  the  third,  to  call  forth  all  the  best 
energy  and  vitality  of  the  Church  ;  to  utilise  these 
in  their  resourcefulness,  not  for  the  purpose  of  ad- 
ministering mere  temporary  aids,  but  for  the  per- 
manent improvement  of  estate,  and  the  permanent 
blessing  of  the  life.  More  and  more  the  words 
spoken  by  Norman  Macleod,  -nearly  fifty  years 
ago,  are  accepted  as  a  rule  of  action :  '*  Let 
congregations  take  cognisance  of  the  whole  man 
and  his  various  earthly  relationships ;  let  them 
seek  to  enrich  him  with  all  Christ  gave  him ;  let 
them  endeavour  to  meet  all  his  wants  as  an 
active,  social,  intellectual,  sentient,  as  well  as 
spiritual  being,  so  that  men  shall  know  through 
the  ministrations  of  the  body,  the  Church,  how 
its  living  Head  gives  them  all  things  richly  to 
enjoy."  ^ 

Great  and  high  and  holy  is  the  work  thus  given 
to  the  Church.  The  harvest  is  plenteous;  may 
the  labourers,  drawing  nearer  to  each  other, 
and  toiling  in  harmony  with  all  who  aim  at 
the  betterment  of  life,  be  inspired  by  the  love 
which  '*  abounds  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judg- 
ment !  "  A  recent  encyclical  of  the  Pope  con- 
cludes with  the  sentence,  *'  We  have  heard  enough 
of  the  rights  of  man,  let  us  hear  more  of  the  rights 

^  Memoir  of  Norman  Macleod,  D.D.,  vol.  ii.  p.  8. 


The  F2dfilment  of  the  Church's  Mission.  357 

of  God."  But  between  the  rights  of  man  and 
the  rights  of  God  there  is  no  opposition  ;  they  are 
misconceived  and  misstated  on  the  one  side  or  on 
the  other,  when  there  seems  to  be  conflict.  The 
good  of  man  is  the  glory  of  God.  The  right  of 
man  is  his  portion  in  God.  Amidst  all  the 
agitations  and  the  apparent  dissonances  of  the 
society  whose  phases,  whose  problems,  whose 
sorrows,  and  whose  aspirations  we  have  re- 
garded, those  who  listen  for  the  voice  of  wisdom, 
*'  watching  daily  at  its  gates  and  waiting  at  the 
posts  of  its  doors,"  can  hear  the  inextinguishable 
cry  of  the  soul  for  God,  the  Everlasting  Righteous- 
ness ;  and  to  reveal  God  to  man  and  reconcile 
man  to  God,  in  righteousness,  is  the  fulfilment  of 
the  social  mission  of  the  Church. 


INDEX. 


Abstinence  from  alcoholic  liquor, 

176.  177. 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  quoted,  58, 

59- 

Alexander,  King  of  Scots,  108. 

Alimentations,  72. 

Altruism,  296,  297. 

Ambrose  of  Milan,  109  note. 

'American  (North)  Review'  re- 
ferred to,  137. 

Anabaptists  of  Munster,  223. 

Anarchism,  263. 

Aquinas,  Thomas,  quoted,  83 — 
referred  to,  91. 

Aristocracies,  old  and  new,  207, 
208. 

Aristotle  quoted,  6 — influence  of 
writings,  84 — referred  to,  302. 

Arnold,  Matthew,  quoted,  51. 

Arnold,  Dr  T.,  203. 

Asia  Minor,  61,  70. 

Assembly,  First  General,  123. 

Athanasius  quoted,  35,  36. 

Augustine,  Bishop  of  Hippo,  re- 
ferred to,  109  note. 

Augustine,  head  of  Roman  mission 
to  England,  102,  106. 

Aveling,  Dr,  211. 

Baboeuf,  Caius  Gracchus,  198  and 

note,  212,  222. 
Bakunin,  Michael,  263. 
Balfour,  Right  Hon.  A.  J.,  referred 

to,  348. 


Barbarians —  ' 

On  the  frontier  of  Roman  Em 
pire,  70,  71. 

Their  respect   for  Christianity, 
78. 

The  shaking  of  their  unities,  82. 
Bax,  Belfort,  269. 
Bell,    Sir   James,   referred  to  and 

quoted    as    to     Glasgow,    185, 

188. 
Benedict,    St,  and   his  order,  91, 

92. 
Bentham,  Jeremy,  201. 
Bernard,  St,  quoted,  91. 
Blanc,  Louis,  199. 
Booth,  Charles,  quoted,  147,  149, 

165,  171. 
Booth,  General,  quoted,  317,  329. 
Bossuet  quoted,  92,  93. 
Bourgeoisie,  the,  212. 
Bread  Riots,  205. 
Bright,  Right  Hon.  John,  referred 

to,  186. 
Brissot,  M.,  referred  to  in  4  note. 
Brotherhood,  the  beginning  of  the 

Christian,  57,  58. 
Browning,  E.  B.,  quoted,  22,  189. 
Bruce,  the  late  Professor,  referred 

to,  22 — quoted,  30,  38. 
Bryce,  Right  Hon.  J.   H.   ('Holy 

Roman    Empire'),    quoted,    79 

note. 
Building  societies  in  U.S.A.,  Aus- 
tralia, Great  Britain,  190,  191. 


Inde: 


'X. 


59 


Calvin,   John,    quoted,    ii6,    117 

and  note. 
Capital,  246-253. 
Capitalists,  247. 
Carlovingian  dynasty,  80. 
Carlyle,    Thomas,     quoted,     286, 
,  287.  _ 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  quoted,  293. 
Celtic  Church,  105,  106. 
Chalmers,    Dr,   referred  to,   128— 

quoted,  132  and  note — his  work 

in  relief  of  poor  in  Glasgow,  151- 

154 — referred  to,  313. 
Chamberlain,      Right     Hon.     J., 

quoted,    147   note— referred    to, 

158,  161  note. 
Charity — 

Sums  annually  expended  by  so- 
cieties, 168. 

Distribution    of,    indescribable, 
168. 

Hurtful  influence  of  much,  168. 

Organisation  of,  needed,  169. 
Charlemagne,  80. 
Chartist  riots,  205. 
Children  and  street-hawking,  210. 
Christianity,  causes  of  progress  of, 

64-66. 
Christian     Social     Union     Settle- 
ment  Report  quoted,   318,   320 

— aim  of  Union,  340. 
("hrysostom,  John,  (luoted,  ']']. 
Church,  Dean,  quoted,  15,  60. 
Church,  The  Christian — 

An  essential  factor  in  civilisation, 
10-12. 

The  word,  how  understood,  12, 

13- 

Social  vocation,  16. 

In  what  sense  an  election,  34- 

38. 
Condition    when    Constantine's 

Edict  was  published,  70. 
The  type  of  life  which  it  devel- 
oped, 71-73. 
Its  social  influence  in  the  fourth 

century,  74. 
Its    efforts    among    Goths  and 

other  tribes,  77. 
Relation     to     Roman     Empire, 

78. 
Theories  as  to  Church  and  State, 

81,  82. 


Its  aspect  and  work  in  tlic  Middle 

Ages,  82,  83. 
Growth  of  tares,  96. 
Diversities  in  unity,  97-99. 
Uniformity  in   rule  insisted  on, 

99,  100. 
Frictions   and  schisms   in,    loi, 

102. 
A  society  mirroring  a  spiritual 
order,  342-352. 
Civilisation,  the  three   features  of 
Christian,  i— early  periods  of,  4. 
Clergy  and  progress,  311,  314. 
Coleridge,  S.  T.,  referred  to,  199, 

204. 
Columba,  St,  and  his  monks,  105. 
Commercial  life,  289,  290. 
Commissions — 

(Royal  on  Licensing  Laws),  ma- 
jority and  minority  reports, 
179— minority  report,  181-183. 
(General  Assembly  on  Religious 
Condition  of  the  People),  re- 
ferred to,  314 — quoted,  353- 

355- 

(Glasgow  Presbytery  and  Hous- 
ing of  Poor),  referred  to,  314. 
Competition,  253-255. 
Comte,  Auguste,  296. 
Conscience,  a  social,  Christ's  pur- 
pose to  create  it  and  His  method, 

31,  32. 
Constantine  the  Great,  75. 
Co-operation,  255-257. 

In  production,  256. 

In  distribution,  256,  257. 

Societies  and  membership,  256, 
257  and  note. 
Craik,  Sir  Henry,  ciuoted,  152  note, 

313  note. 
Cranmer,  Archbishop,  116. 
Crusades,    influence  of,   84   note, 

88. 
Cunningham's  '  Churcii  History  of 

Scotland '  quoted,  108. 

Dante  quoted,  92. 

D'Aubigne^,    Merle,   quoted,     117, 

118. 
David,  King  of  Scots,  107. 
Davidson,  Thomas,  quoted,  274- 
Decentralisation,  a  desideratum  as 

to  housing,  193. 


360 


Index, 


Discipline,  Second  Book  of,  quot- 
ed, 118. 
Discontent,  social,  266-268. 
Divisions  in  Church,  344,  345. 
Dominic,  St,  and  his  order,  91. 
Duns  Scotus  referred  to,  91. 

'  Ecce    Homo'    quoted,    49    and 

note. 
Economics,  relation  to  ethics,   9, 

10. 
*  Edinburgh  Review '  quoted,  202, 

301. 
Egaux,  Society  of,  212. 
Election,    the    right    meaning    of 

term  as  applied  to  the  Church, 

34-38. 
Eliot,    George,   referred    to,    297, 

298. 
Emerson,  R.  W.,  quoted,  207. 
Employers'  Liability  Act,  157. 
Encyclopaedists,  French,  198. 
Endowment  Scheme,  129-131. 
Equality,  passion  for,  264,  265, 
Eremites,  89. 
Essenism,  89,  222. 
Ethic,    of   Christ,   23 — *  of  Free 

Thought '  quoted,  261  note,  273 

— of  the  day,  301. 
Evangelism  and  philanthropy,  317. 
'  Expansion    of    Christian    Life,' 

book  referred  to,  70  note. 

Fabian  Society,  211 — tracts  of  so- 
ciety quoted,  227,  236,  253,  254, 
270. 

Factory  and  Workshops  Acts, 
220. 

Fairbairn,  Principal,  quoted,  105, 
123  note. 

Faith— 
The  faith  of  the  Church,   332- 

334. 

Subjective,  334. 

Uncertainties  as  to,  335,  336. 

Separation    between    faith   and 
life,  338,  339. 

Increase  of,  341,  342. 
Fellowships  of  antiquity,  40. 
Feudalism,    85— Church   influence 

and  attitude,  87-89. 
Flint,  Professor,  quoted,  219,  229, 

277. 


Foresters'    societies     referred    to, 

161. 
Fourier,  M.,  199,  222. 
Free  Churches  in  England  referred 

to,  353- 
Freeman,  Professor,  quoted,  no. 
Friendly  societies  referred  to,  161. 

Geddes,  Professor  Patrick,  295. 

George,  Henry,  quoted,  238,  241. 

'Gesta  Christi'  quoted,  'j'j,  88. 

Giffen,  Sir  Robert,  quoted,  148. 

Glasgow — 

Services  in  poorhouses,  162, 
Model  lodging-houses,  185,  186. 
Farmed  houses,  186. 
One-roomed  houses,  186. 
Ticketed  houses,  186,  187. 
Efforts  of  corporation  of,  187. 

Gore,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  quot- 
ed, 83,  301 — referred  to,  353. 

Graham,   Rev.   H.  Grey,   quoted, 

313. 
Graham's,  Sir  James,  Act,  129. 
Greek  democracy,  198  and  note. 
Green,  J.  H.,  204,  325,  326. 
Greg,  W.  R.,  quoted,  222,  223. 
Guizot,  M.,  referred  to,  ir, 
Guthrie,  Dr  Thomas,  313. 

Hallam,  H.,  quoted,  80. 

'  Handy  -  Book   for   Guardians   of 

Poor'  quoted,  163. 
Harmonists,  222. 
Headlam,  Rev.  Stuart,  211. 
Hebrew  morality,  24,  25. 
Hegel  quoted,  174,  175. 
Hegelianism,  200,  204. 
Helps,  Sir  Arthur,  quoted,  53. 
Helvetius  referred  to,  201  note. 
Henry    HL,    King    of    England, 

108. 
Henry  VHI.,   King  of  England, 

103,  104  note,  113. 
'  Herald,  Glasgow,'   quoted,  350, 

351. 

Hermas  quoted,  59. 

Herzen,  Alex.,  quoted,  276. 

Hilary  (' De  Trinitate')  quoted, 
41. 

Hildebrand,  Gregory  VTL,  8r. 

History,  its  office,  53,  54 — ecclesi- 
astical, repels,  why?  55,  56. 


Index, 


361 


Hobson,  J.  H.  (*  Ruskin  as  Social 
Reformer'),  quoted,  214,  215. 

Hooker,  Richard,  quoted,  12,  13. 

Housing  of  poor,  184-190. 

Hughes,  Judge,  referred  to,  205. 

Hutcheson,  Professor,  referred  to, 
201  note. 

Hiixley,  Professor,  quoted,  141, 
142,   166. 

Hyndman,  H.  M.,  211. 

'  Ibsen  and  Bjornsen  '  (by  George 
Brand)  quoted,  304,  305. 

Incarnation,  the,  40-50. 
Its  witness  for  the  solidarity  of 

mankind,  45. 
The  value  which  it  puts  on  life, 

47. 
Individual,  the,  the  unit,  i,  2. 
Intemperance — 
Percentage  of  poverty  due  to  it, 

171. 
Expenditure  on  alcoholic  liquors, 

172. 
Counter  -  attractions   to   public- 
houses,  183. 
lona,  104. 
Irenseus  quoted,  47. 

Jerusalem,  60,  61. 
Jesus,  the  Christ — 

His    Jewish    environment,     16, 

17- 

The  originality  of  His  teachmg, 

20,  21. 
His  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  23- 

27. 
His  calling  of  men,  27,  28. 
His  prospect,  29,  30. 
His  ethical  plan,  31,  32. 
His  intercessory  prayer,  39. 
His  personality  unicjue,  21. 
The  Christian  apprehension  of, 

42. 
His  sacrifice  and  its  power,  48- 

50. 
Faith  in  the  living,  and  what  it 

nourishes,  50,  51. 
Johnson,  DrS.,  quoted,  104. 
Johnston,    Sheriff,     quoted,     112, 

Judaism,  disengagement  of  Christ- 
ianity from,  60. 


Justinian,  Emperor  (Code  and  In- 
stitutes of),  75. 

Kaufman,  H.,  225. 
Kentigern  or  Munghu,  104. 
Kingdom  of  God,  the  divine  order, 

32 — its  two  abiding  features,  34. 
Kingsley,  Charles,  205. 
Knox,  John,  his  scheme  for  Church 

revenue,  124. 
Krapotkin,     Prince,    cjuoted,    140 

note. 

Labour — 

Churches,  278, 

Colonies,  327,  328. 

Leagues,  211. 

Question,  229. 

Manual,  measure  of  value,  231- 

233- 

Whole   produce  of,  claimed  as 
due  to  labourer,  233,  237. 

Increase  of  opportunity  for  la- 
bourer, 248,  249. 
Lacordaire,  Pfere,  referred  to.  11. 
Lady   Margaret    Hall,    work    at, 

321. 
Laissez  faire,  219. 
Lang,  Andrew,  quoted,  122  note. 
Lnssalle,  Ferdinand,  199  and  note, 

200, 
Laveleye,  M.  de,  quoted,  265. 
Leckie,  W.  H.,  quoted,  208,  209. 
Leroux,  Pierre,  197  note. 
Liquor  traffic,  178-180. 
Local  Government  Board  reports, 

148,    149— reports   quoted,    154, 

155,   ^58. 

Lodge,  Professor,  cjuoted,  253. 

Loomis,  S.  ('  Modern  Cities'),  re- 
ferred to,  139,  168. 

Lowell,  J.  R..  quoted,  285. 

'  Lux  Mundi '  quoted,  48. 

Mably,  M.,  referred  to,  4  note. 

Mackenzie,  Professor  J.  S.,  quot- 
ed, 7  note,  25,  303. 

McKinley,  late  President,  message 
quoted,  144. 

Macleod,  Rev.  Dr  Norman,  re- 
ferred to,  313— quoted,  154,  356. 

M'Neill.Sir  John,  evidence  quoted, 

156. 


362 


Index. 


Mallock,  W.  H.,  quoted,  8,  297. 
Malthus  referred  to,  139. 
Margaret,  Queen,  106,  107. 
Marriage,  early  and  improvident, 

141,  142. 
Maurice,  Rev.  T.  D.,  205. 
Marx,   Karl,  referred  to,   199  and 

note — quoted,  200,  217,  231  and 

note,  232,  233,  247. 
Melbourne,  Lord,  referred  to,  204. 
Mendicant  Orders,  Franciscan,  85. 
Middle  Ages,  83-87. 
Mill,  James,  201,  203. 
Mill,  J.  S.,  quoted,  7,  43,  219,  245. 
Milton,  John,  306— quoted,  352. 
Moderates,   the,    and   their  social 

service,  313  and  note. 
Mommsen  (historian)  referred  to, 

71  note,  76. 
Monachism — 

Spread  of,  89,  90. 

Decline  and  corruption,  92,  93. 
Monastery   and   its  influence,   90, 

91. 
Monks  and  their  service,  91,  92. 
Montalembert,  Count  de,  quoted, 

91-93- 
Moravians  referred  to,  223. 
Morley,  John,  quoted,  note  157, 

158. 
Mormons  referred  to,  222. 
MulhallC  Dictionary  of  Statistics'), 

145,  168. 

Nationality  of  Church  of  England, 
102-104. 

Nationality  of  Church  of  Scot- 
land, 105-108. 

Neander  quoted,  55, 

Nero,  Emperor,  his  accusations, 
69. 

Newcastle,  Bishop  of,  quoted,  183. 

Nicene  Creed,  40. 

Nicoll,  Dr  Robertson,  quoted, 
349- 

Ninian,  St,  104. 

Old  age  pensions,  158,  159. 
Old  men,  158. 

Owen,  Robert,  197  note,  206. 
Owenites,  222. 

Papacy,  growth  of,  78-82. 


Paraguay,  Jesuits  in,  222. 
Parishes — 
Division  and  endowment  of,  no, 

III. 
Quoad  sacra,  129. 
Number  of,  in  England  at  Re- 
formation, 113. 
Number  of,  in  Scotland  at  Re- 
formation, 114. 
Parochial    economy,    origin    and 

growth  of,   109- 1 13. 
Parsons,    Mr  (Chicago),    referred 

to,  264. 
Pater,  Walter,  quoted,  44. 
Paton,  J.,  Esq.  (Glasgow),  referred 

to  and  quoted,  185-187. 
Paul,  Apostle— 
The  special  theatre  of  his  action, 

61. 
His  missionary  circuits,  62. 
His  blending  of  Greek  and  Ro- 
man thought,  62,  63.. 
Peel,  Viscount,  referred  to,  181. 
Pentecost,  day  of,  57,  58. 
Pepin,    Patrician  of  the  Romans, 

80. 
Persecutions   of  Christians,  why? 

66-69. 
Peruvians  referred  to,  222. 
Peter,     Apostle,    chair    of,    79  — 

treasury  of,  83. 
Plato,  222. 
'  Plea  for  Liberty '  (book)  quoted, 

159.  160. 
Pliny  the  Younger,  his  testimony, 

66. 
Pope,  encyclical  of,  356. 
Population,  rapid  increase  of,  and 

problems,  138-143. 
Poverty — 
Appalling  prevalence  of,  145, 146. 
Pauper   element  in   population, 

147-149. 
F'auperism   decreasing   in    Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  149. 
Poor  Law,  150,  151 — amended, 

220. 
Administration  of  funds  for  poor 
prior   to   the  Poor  Law,   152 
note. 
Casual    and    habitual  paupers, 

156. 
Estimates  of  poverty,  165,  166. 


Index. 


363 


Praemunire  statute,  103. 
Priestley,  J.,  leferred  to,  201. 
Principles — 

Their  necessity  to  the  continu- 
ance of  a  society,  39,  40. 

The  principles  of  Christian  hu- 
manitarianism,  40. 
Proletariat,  228,  272. 
Propaganda^ 

Socialistic,  261. 

Social,  of  Church,  352-357. 
Property  in  land,  241 — theories  as 

to,  241,  242. 
Proudhon,  M.,  referred  to,  199 — 

quoted,  218,  219,  237,  263. 

Quincey,  T.  De,  quoted,  174. 

Rae,  John  ('Contemporary  Social- 
ism '),  quoted,  217,  264,  266, 
276. 

Ramsay,  Professor  \\'.  M.,  65,  69 
note,  71  note,  73  note,  76. 

Rappists  (sect),  216. 

Rebaud,  Louis,  197  note. 

Reformation  of  Church,  113,  115- 
118. 

Regulars  (clergy)  and  their  social 
work,  91,  92, 

Renan,  E.,  cjuoted,  22,  265. 

Reunion  of  Christendom,  119. 

Ricardo,  S.,  230. 

Rights  of  man,  4,  5. 

Robertson,   Professor  James,   129- 

131- 
Robertson,    Rev.   Dr  A.,   referred 

to,   313. 
Roman  Empire — 

Contact  of  Christianity  with,  61. 

Facilities  which  it  gave  for  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel,  64,  65. 

Influence  of  its  organisation  on 
Church,  78,  79. 

Democracy  of,  198. 

Holy  Roman  Empire,  80. 
Rome,  impression  made  on  Goths, 

n,  78. 

Romulus  Augustus,  79. 

Rousseau,  J.  J.,  4.  198. 

Rowntree  and  Sherv/ell  ('The 
Temperance  Problem  and  Social 
Reform  '),  referred  to  and  quot- 
ed, 172-184. 


Ruskin,  John,  quoted,  56 — referred 
to  or  quoted,  143,  285,  286,  294, 
295- 

Sacrifice,  power  of  Christ's,  48-50. 

Saint-Simon,  M.,  199,  309,  310. 

Salisbury,  ^Iarquis  of,  quoted, 
218. 

Salvation  Army,  its  social  work, 
329,  330. 

Schatfie,  Dr  ('  Quintessence  of  So- 
cialism '),  referred  to,  225— quot- 
ed, 226  and  note,  227,  244,  259. 

Scotland,  condition  of,  at  Refor- 
mation, 120,  121. 

Scottish  Church  and  Scottish  life, 
125,  126. 
Testimony  concerning,  127. 

Selborne,  late  Earl  of,  m. 

Seldcn  ('  History  of  Tithes')  quot- 
ed, 110-112. 

Shakers  (sect),  216. 

Shakespeare  quoted,  259. 

Shebbeare,  C.  J.,  quoted,  198. 

Sidgwick,  Professor,  quoted,  302. 

Sig^smund,  Emperor,  proclama- 
tion, 89. 

Smith,  Adam,  referred  to,  230. 

Social  Democratic  Federation,  211. 

Social  ethical  trends,  284-307. 

Social  life  necessary  to  completion 
of  the  individual,  6,  7. 

Social  mission  of  Church,  fulfil- 
ment of,  357. 

Socialism — 

Its  protests,  196,  197. 

The  genesis  and  significance  of 

term,  197. 
History  of  theories  of,  198-200. 
Philosophical   preparation  for  it 

in  Great  Britain,  200-204. 
Social    and    industrial    circum- 
stances which  disposed  to  it, 
205-210. 
Socialistic  organisations, 210-2 1 2. 
Socialism   and  democracy,  212, 

215. 
Socialism  and  communism,  215- 

217. 
Socialism  and  social  effort,  217- 

219. 
Socialism  and  extension  of  .State- 
powers,  219-221. 


364 


Index, 


Variety  of  form,  222. 
Modern,  its  appeal,  223,  224. 
Characteristic  positions  of,  225- 

253. 
Proposed  substitute  for  compe- 
tition, 253-259. 
Moral  and  religious  aspects  of, 

260-278. 
Hostility  to  Church  and  clergy, 
274,  275. 
Socialist  Continental  programmes, 

215. 
Socialist  League,  211. 
Society — 

Civic,  one  of  the  three  constitu- 
ents of  civilisation,  7. 
Civic,  interesting  for  the  sake  of 

the  unit,  8. 
Christian,  constitution  of,  33. 
Sociology,  8-10. 
Spence,  Thomas,  quoted,  241. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  239,  240. 
Stahl,  H.,  212. 

Stanley,  Dean,  quoted,  62,  63. 
Stephen,   Leslie,   referred  to,  203 
note. 

Taylor,  Isaac,  quoted,  65,  66, 
Temperance  reform — 

Progress  of,  174,  175. 

Division  in  ranks  of  reformers, 
180,  i8r. 
Tennyson,      Lord,     quoted,     21, 

304. 
Tillet,  Mr  Ben,  quoted,  159. 
Tithes,  history  of,  109-111. 
Tocqueville,   De,   referred  to,  207 

— quoted,  214,  215,  264,  265. 
Tolstoy,  Count  Leo,  298,  299. 

Doctrine,  300. 

Disciples,  300,  301. 
Toynbee,  Arnold,  295,  318. 
Toynbee  Hall,  319. 


Transport,  cheap,  for  workmeri, 
193- 

Union,  Church — 

Four   points    essential   to,    346- 

^  352. 

Unity  before  union,  351. 
Union,  trades,  251,  252. 
Unionism,  New,  212. 
United  Kingdom,  wealth  of,  144, 

145- 
United  States  of  America — 

Wealth  of,  144. 

Democratic  constitution,  213. 

Fraternities,  216. 
University  Settlements — 

Toynbee,  318-320. 

Oxford  House,  321,  322. 

Cambridge,  322. 

Mansfield  House,  322,  323. 

Features  of  Settlements,  323-327. 

Wages,  233,  235. 

Wagner,  Professor,  quoted,  265. 

Watson,  William,  quoted,  307. 

Wealth- 
Ethics  of,  288. 
Waste  of,  291. 
Responsibility  for,  293. 
What  wealth  is,  294,  295. 
Of  Church  at  Reformation,  123 
124. 

Westcott,  Bishop  of  Durham 
quoted,  14,  224,  283,  341,  342. 

William  the  Conqueror,  102. 

Winchester,  Bishop  of,  quoted, 
170, 

Witchcraft,  and  cruelties  perpe- 
trated on  supposed  witches, 
312. 

Wordsworth,  William,  referred  to, 
199. 

Working  Men's  Association,  211. 


i'RlNTEU    bY   WILLIAM    BLACKWOOD    AND    SONS. 


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■A. 


